


Turbo Danganronpa XX: Vanity of Justice

by ArcLagoon, Megafighter3



Series: Danganronpa: HAVOC Trilogy [1]
Category: Dangan, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, Kind of Depressing, Officially Unofficial Sequel, Original Character(s), Sequel, Unofficial Sequel, danganronpa - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 01:00:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 88,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20267440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcLagoon/pseuds/ArcLagoon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megafighter3/pseuds/Megafighter3
Summary: There are two kinds of people in this world. The ones who become stronger as their resolve is tested against impending odds, and ones who feel everything they've stood by fall away into nothing. In the 20th Danganronpa game, Which one will you be?





	1. PROLOGUE Part 1

Prologue, Part 1: First Admission to Enoshima University

“Where am I? Why is it dark?” A young man muttered out as the air escaping his nose hit in front of him, making his face moist with condensation. He felt like his arms were pinned to his sides, he could barely breathe, cold metal pushed on his chest if he took too much air into his diaphragm. He felt a light hit his eyes, so he leaned forward slightly, seeing a grated set of ports in front of his eyes.

“Is this… a classroom?” he asked himself looking through the little port, leaning his weight into it to see if he could steady his view. There were rows upon rows of desks, connected to staircases leading to a projector in the front of the room pointed to a blackboard. Suddenly, the door opened, and he landed on his face. “G-God damn it…” He muttered, feeling the cold wooden floor on his face, before pushing his hand onto the ground and standing himself up.

He turned around to see where he fell from, seeing a metal locker. Did someone stuff him into a locker? It was silver, the door was warped slightly from pressing his body against it. “...Who still stuffs people into lockers, seriously?” He muttered to himself as he softly began to rub his head when he suddenly realized something. “...How did I get in that locker?” He asked, walking up to it and slowly inspecting it. It didn’t seem like there was anything out of place with the locker, but… who puts lockers in a classroom? They are usually in the halls, not the classroom.

He searched his head to see what he could remember of the past few days… but it felt like that one time he got home from the dentist and laid in his bed while the medication made him saw dancing skeletons for hours. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweater vest as he slowly walked down the steps, the desks slowly passing him as he walked up to the small pedestal with the projector on it.

“...Maybe I can figure out where I am if I turn the projector on?” He wondered aloud, gently pushing the button, the light turning on and hitting the blackboard behind him. He turned to face it, but the image it was showing was obfuscated by the chalkboard not showing the projector light all that well. He walked up to see a tightly wrapped projector screen, wrapping a finger around a hook and pulling it down to reveal the image being projected.

Strangely, it was a teddy bear, almost a close up of the picture of the teddy bear. It had a seam in the middle that separated its white half, a Build-a-Bear knock-off with a button for an eye, from its black half. The black half had a wicked, toothy grin and a glowing, jagged red eye. The picture was unmoving, the boy just watched the image of the bear to see if it would move at all.

“Apparently this is teddy bear class. That was no help at all.” He complained, shaking his head and walking to the door of the room, putting his hand on the handle and trying to push it open… But it was locked, and no matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t give. “Aaaaand I’m locked inside. This day sucks already.” He said, shaking his head disappointedly, but when he turned around… he noticed something.

The windows have been barred off. The steel on the windows looked about 2 inches thick, secured by industrial level bolts on all four corners of the window, and the only lights were the dim, dying fluorescent lighting and the projection of a teddy bear on the wall. He looked over to the corner of the room, where he heard a suspicious beeping noise and a red light. A small camera sitting over a small TV monitor was placed in the corner of the room, with an intercom underneath it that he could only assume is a PA system. Did someone trap him in this room?

Before he could investigate anything, he heard a rattling from one of the lockers he fell from, along with a muffled voice. “Hello!? I’m stuck! Heeeeeelp.” A female voice cried out, gently pounding the door with enough force to make it shake, but not enough to make them fall out like an idiot like he just did.

An instinctive feeling of wanting to help started to fill his head, the young man running his way up the stairs and making it to the locker. Compared to the one he was trapped in, her locker had a combination lock on it. “H-hey! Are you okay in there? This lock has a combination on it, lemme see if I can figure out the combination on it.” He tried to console the woman in the locker.

“T-there’s a padlock?” The voice whimpered out from the locker, giving a resigned sigh as the shaking and punching of the door stopped.

“B-be calm okay? If you struggle too much, you’ll hyperventilate.” He warned when suddenly he heard a voice behind his back.

“Hey, ya idiot!” The voice called behind him in a singsong voice. He turned around, and the picture of the bear seemed to move, backing up just a bit to see the rest of it in profile. It was chubby and looked about a foot or two tall unless it was one of those uncomfortably big teddy bears. The strange part… it was moving on its own. It almost looked like a character from one of those 3D animated movies… if the texture wasn’t so real looking.

“Now I dunno who in the hell decided to put a lock on that locker, but I’ll wring ‘em, you hear me?” The bear crudely remarked… At least the voice of the bear spoke, though its mouth didn’t move when it spoke. “Here, I’ll give you some help, I can’t get my game started unless I get all you idiots in the same room together.” He said before the projector switched to a camera feed from the camera he saw in the corner.

The boy standing near the locker had messy brown hair to his shoulders, and was wearing a simple button up long sleeved shirt, over the shirt was a dark maroon sweater vest and a beige pair of slacks. “And I’m talking to YOU, Kenji Taisei! this is the only room I’m speaking to right now!” The bear complained before a cartoon arrow pointed to one of the desks.

“I guess he’s referring to me, huh… I almost forgot my name for a second.” Kenji said, trying to remedy the migraine he felt that made him forget so much in the heat of the moment.

“That desk has the combination you want to free the girl in the locker. Now excuse me while I go get my flamethrower to burn the shit outta the one Monokuma who decided to be sassy with me.” the bear said, quickly going off screen to reveal a room only detailed with a dim red light. A quick static cut back to the live feed of Kenji in the classroom, the indicator still pointing to the desk that the bear mentioned earlier.

He slowly approached the desk, his video feed self matching his movements. He looked away from the video feed, turning to the desk and opening it up. There was a small slip of paper with the numbers 22L - 31R - 12L with a smiley face on the end of what felt like a fortune cookie paper. He ran to the locker, hearing the shaking of the door start up again as he muttered the numbers to himself, spinning the lock left, right, then left until the locker opened and a girl fell from leaning her weight onto the door just like he did.

“W-Woaaaah!” She shouted, falling into his arms, making him stumble back and hit his head on the floor, rattling him as the girl landed safely on top of him. “Oh no! I killed him!” The girl shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders and gently shaking him to try and get him to focus, his eyes rolling around like a pair of googly eyes as she shook him.

“W-where we gonna go at the fair next, mommy?” Kenji said in a daze before his vision focused on the girl shaking him by the lapels. She was wearing… an officer’s uniform, oddly. She was clad in a deep blue blouse and undershirt, with a skirt that modestly covers just past her knees, along with black shoes and stockings on the rest of her legs. A small blue Japanese police hat rested on her head, framing her neat, dark blue hair and curious purple-eyed stare. From this close, the first thing he thought was ‘she’s actually kind of cute’ before the extreme pain in the back of his head attacked again, almost punishing him for making that his first thought upon seeing her.

“Ow! I’m awake! Stop shaking me!” Kenji said, the girl stopping and scrambling off him.

“Oh! Thank goodness! Sorry! I was getting claustrophobic in there!” she said, offering a hand. Kenji took it, getting up.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t handling much better in there.” Kenji said

“So, uh… You’re Kenji Taisei, right? It’s what that weird voice said, right?” She asked with a little hammer gesture to her open palm. Kenji nodded, gently scratching his head as he took her hand and stood himself back up to his feet.

“Y-yeah… And who are you?” He asked her, she performed a little salute as she announced herself.

“Cadet Akira Kazue, an official member of the Kyoto Prefecture Police! I’m here to protect and serve!” She announced very officially, but he just stood there and blinked for a few seconds.

“Okay, so you’re a cop. Do you know who kidnapped me and brought me here? Do you even know what this place is?” Kenji asked, though his headache made him keep seeing two of her as he spoke.

“Well… I was invited to officially join Enoshima University… A college funded by the government in honing and finding the students with the best talents in Japan. But… I passed out, and I woke up in a locker.” She explained, looking at Kenji. “Did you know that?” She asked, but Kenji got lost in thought again.

“....Why don’t I remember that?” He asked before the bear appeared again on the screen.

“We might have dropped you a few times while we were taking you to your locker. Don’t worry about it, though! My mother always told me ‘there’s nothing a little brain damage can’t fix!” He stated with a happy tone before the screen finally turned off to a test card.

“...And now I’m even more concerned.” Kenji said with a defeated sigh. But Akira’s high pitched orotund voice sort of inspired a small bit of optimism every time that she announces something in response.

“Well don’t worry! As a citizen of Japan and in service to my country, I’ll make sure I protect you while we navigate the dangerous corridors of the school!” She said, offering a contagious smile that invaded Kenji’s face, making him softly smile as well.

“Y-yeah!” Kenji replied before the bear showed up on the screen one last time.

“Now, hurry up and introduce yourself to everyone else in the main hall. We got like… 14 more people you need to say hi to and I don’t wanna be here all day.” The bear said hurriedly, trying to get the two of them to get a move on already. The two stared in confusion as the projector screen flickered off.

“Did he say there were more people than just us trapped here?” Kenji asked Akira gave a cautious nod as they looked at the exit of the classroom they were in. “This was locked the last time I tried to open it.” He said, approaching the door and turning the knob. Lo and behold, it opened this time, the door creaking open to the main stairway leading to the first floor.

Over the balcony, there seemed to be a small crowd forming in the main hall, surrounding a marble statue of Monokuma, arms folded with a woman behind him in a similar pose. She was tall, with an hourglass figure and long hair tied into huge pigtails on each side of her head, clipped with Monokuma heads. She was dressed in a cardigan and dress shirt, both unbuttoned with a tie dropping down under her chest, a miniskirt and platform-heeled boots.

Many of the gathered crowd looked as confused as Kenji had been, looking around the main hall to find a TV monitor just above the doorway, a camera hanging beneath it. The camera turned and swiveled, aiming and zooming at each person in the room, rotating back and aiming at Kenji and Akira as they passed by.

At the top of the stairs was a young man wearing a coat slightly too big for him, he had his hands on his hips, but they were still in his sleeves. His blonde mop of hair framing his face as Akira and Kenji made their way down the stairs, the boy turning to stare at him with cold grey eyes. “Uh… hey, I’m Kenji. You the hall monitor?” he said with a chuckle, trying to break the ice, only for the young man to stare at him blankly.

“No. I’m Yukiji Chimon. I’m one of the top-ranked chess players in the country.” He said in a dead sounding voice. “Hi.”

**Yukiji Chimon: Ultimate Chessmaster.**

“Oh. Okay, so why are you up here?” Akira asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be in the main hall?”

“It’s too loud down there, I like it up here, where I can think,” Yukiji said, gently tilting his head to look at Kenji and Akira.

“Well, yeah, but I think we might have to get inside the main hall before we can figure out why we’re here,” Kenji replied to him, Yukiji just put his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at them. “Uhh… Akira. A little help here?” He asked her, feeling uncomfortable. Akira nodded and turned to Yukiji.

“I know it can be tough to handle a loud place, maybe you could stay in the corner and wait until the crowd clears out a little. Is that alright?” She offered with a small smile on her face, the way she spoke to Yukiji reminded Kenji of how his old middle school teacher talked to him. Clear and easy to understand, Kenji guessed she really was a police cadet. Yukiji simply nodded and headed down the stairs. The three soon stepped down, camera focusing on them and bringing the remaining 13 people’s attention to them.

Yukiji shrunk behind Akira and Kenji, putting the focus the pair. 13 sets of eyes staring that at them while they walked up to everyone, Yukiji staying behind. Kenji walked over near the center of the room, but somewhat behind a group of people in front of him, looking at the plaque in front of the statue.

**University Founder Junko Enoshima and Monokuma**

“Junko… Enoshima?” Kenji asked, his head feeling slightly dizzy as he looked at the statue. As Kenji looked over the figure in detail, a voice suddenly shouted to him.

“Kenji, behind you!” Akira called, Kenji turning to see the black-and-white bear looking right at him, Kenji suddenly jumping back against the statue.

“Hiya~!” The bear that Kenji recognized earlier on the projector screen stood on one leg, pretending he was swimming in mid-air before hopping onto its two little stuffed paw pads. “Missed me, didn’t ya?” he asked, looking at one of the cameras, which made the video feed make him look head-on at the rest of the classmates.

“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me! Is that a goddamned teddy bear?!?” shouted a woman in a black duster, jeans, and a cap, gripping a wooden baseball bat loaded with bent, rusting nails.

“I am *NOT* a teddy bear! I’ve been doing this for years, and everyone keeps saying I’m a teddy bear! My name is Monokuma, thank you beary much!” the bear shouted, shifting from annoyance to humor, getting only a collective of groans from the gathered students, Kenji looking at this all in confused awe. The bear was real, and it had a name.

“Look, Teddy, I don’t know what sick fuckin’ joke you’re playing here, but you better start explaining just what the hell is going on here or I’m gonna bust your little bear skull right here and right now!” the woman shouted, pointing the nailed bat at Monokuma.

“I would… advise against that, violence against the headmaster is strictly prohibited!” He said, gently poking a finger against the nail covered bat. “That, and I’ll blow up if you hit me with that bat, sweet cheeks. So don’t try it, ‘kay?” he said, raising a clawed paw, red eye glowing. The woman growled and dropped her bat, snarling at Monokuma.

“As much of a degenerate as she is, she raises a good point.” said a white-haired young man clad in glasses over his hazel eyes, adjusting his tie before putting his hands behind his back. “You, Monokuma, owe us an explanation. Several, in fact. Who are you? What are you? Where are we? Why are we here?” he said, holding up a finger for each question.

“Ah, very observant, well I have already told you that I’m Monokuma. As for what I am, I am the Headmaster of Enoshima University, though I am considering the title of ‘Dean Monokuma.’ It sounds so dignified~ And I am all about dignity.” Monokuma said, everyone in the room letting out faint murmurs of discussion. It seemed that no matter what came out of Monokuma’s mouth, it made less sense than what he said before.

“Now let’s get back to brass tacks and explain what’s gonna happen next, got it?” Monokuma said, pointing a hand to his mouth as he waited for the rabble to die down. “You’re all gonna introduce yourselves to each other since you’re all gonna be students. Once we get that little pleasantry out of the way, I can tell you guys the real reason why you’re at this school. Got it?”

It was then that the hole in the floor returned and sent Monokuma back down. Kenji blinked. He had to introduce himself to everyone in the room? They had to talk to each other before they got the answers they wanted? Kenji almost wanted to be back in the locker, thinking this might all be a weird dream he’d wake up from. He walked over to the young man in the white waistcoat and red tie. He seemed to be someone with a good head on his shoulders.

“Uhh, hey. How’s it going? I’m Kenji Taisei.” Kenji said, the white-haired man glaring and pushing up his glasses, he was… quite pale, and his hands were clad with a neat pair of white gloves without a speck of dust on them.

“Did I look like I wanted to know what your name is? Don’t bore me with your pleasantries,” he said, Kenji immediately dropping his smile.

“Hey! We gotta get to know each other or else Monokuma won’t tell us anything!” Kenji exclaimed the young sighing and frowning at him.

“Fine. My name is Shiro Kiruma, now go bother someone else, Taisei.” He warned with his stern tone, Kenji just furrowed his brow at him.

**Shiro Kiruma: Ultimate Politician.**

“Harsh, ain’t he?” came a voice behind Kenji. He turned to see another young man with long black hair tied into a ponytail, scratching at his goatee. He was wearing a leather jacket with a little logo of a badger hitting a cave wall with a pickaxe on it. His body was long and kind of lanky looking compared to Kenji’s average build.

“Yeah, is everyone a jerk here?” Kenji asked.

“Heh, don’t think I am. I’m Rio Daisuke, the Ultimate Spelunker.”

**Rio Daisuke: Ultimate Spelunker.**

“Ultimate? Spelunker?” Kenji said, feeling like question marks were floating around his head talking to Rio. Rio let out a hearty laugh.

“Looks like you forgot quite a bit. A spelunker’s someone explores caves for a living. And I’m the best! During one trip, I discovered the ancient Mayan city made of sapphire! I’ve even been on the cover of magazines! It’s why I’m the Ultimate Spelunker!” Rio said, pointing his thumb to the little badger on his jacket.

“Okay, but why the Ultimate Spelunker?” Kenji asked, getting another chuckle from Rio.

“Wow, you hit your head or something, buddy? Being an Ultimate is being one of the best in your field, especially when you’re young and brimming with potential. I mean, how many teenagers do you know findin’ cities of sapphire? We’re all Ultimates here. In fact, I wanted to make a good impression by looking up what students are gonna be showing up to school this year.” Rio said, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from under the folds of his red scarf.

“Wow, really? Which Ultimate am I? I’m Kenji Taisei.” Kenji said. Rio nodded and ran a finger along the paper.

“Good thing it’s alphabetical order. K for Kenji. Ah, there we go. Ultimate Volunteer.”

**Kenji Taisei: Ultimate Volunteer.**

“I don’t know, that sounds kind of underwhelming,” Kenji commented, feeling some of his memories start to come back to him.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if your ultimate skill is world peace or eating spiders… an Ultimate is an Ultimate, pal. Congrats.” Rio said with a reassuring smile at Kenji, it was strange… Rio looked a bit older than most of the people there, or was that his goatee?

“I mean, I guess it makes sense…” Kenji said, starting to remember how often he volunteered to help people either at his middle school or just when he was out of the house. He never thought much of it, it was just what he did. He helped people because it was the right thing to do. “...I hope there isn’t an Ultimate Spider-Eater.” Kenji said, a grimace forming as Rio checked the list.

“Nope, but there is the Ultimate Vampiress, Dahlia Kurotsuki,” Rio said, pointing to a young woman clad in a dress made of black and red silk, with billowing silver hair to her lower back and dark purple lipstick, she appeared to have fangs poking out of her bottom lips, and blood-red eyes. She was talking with Akira, letting out a high-pitched, artificial laugh and showing off her fangs.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: Ultimate Vampiress.**

“Wait, there are vampires at this school!?!” Kenji said, eyes wide with shock.

Rio casually waved a hand at her, whispering out the side of his mouth. “Nah, she’s probably just a real weirdo. And look at the police girl talkin’ to her...” He said, pointing to Akira who looked about fifteen different kinds of uncomfortable right now.

“Oh yeah, that’s Akira,” Kenji said.

“Hah! Now you’re catching on! That’s the Ultimate Police Cadet!” Rio replied.

**Akira Kazue: Ultimate Police Cadet.**

“It helps she’s pretty cute to look at, especially next to Bride of Dracula over there,” Rio commented, but Kenji just casually rolled his eyes at him. “Anyway, I’ve been talking your ear off for the last few minutes. Here, take the list and introduce yourself! I’ve got the names memorized anyway, so I’ll be fine!” he said, walking off.

“H-huh? W-wait! What’s Shiro’s Ultimate?” Kenji shouted.

“Ultimate Politician!” Rio said before heading to introduce himself to Akira and rescue her from Dahlia.

“Ultimate Politician? But… but he’s an asshole...” Kenji muttered, lifting the paper up to his eyes and slowly sifted through the names of the class, wandering through the room as the other students continued to greet each other with... a lack of enthusiasm. He looked around the room and spotted a girl in a hoodie, opened up on the front to reveal a blue crop top, a black beanie with a little skull on the side of it poking out what the hood didn’t cover, tufts of her blueish-grey hair sticking out of it. She had a skateboard tucked under her arm, meaning that this had to be…

**Setsuki Yori: Ultimate Extreme Sports Star.**

“Uh, hey. I’m Kenji,” he said, reaching his hand out.

“‘Sup. Name’s Setsuki Yori.” she said, bumping her fist against his open hand. “Hey, you’re stopping all the vibes from happening.” She complained, backing her hand and keeping it in a fist. “C’mon… pound it, Kenji!”

Kenji shrugged and offered a fist, Setsuki bumping it and then pulling back and opening, making a “pshwooo” sound with her mouth. “Yeah..” she said with a cat-like smile of satisfaction on her face. Kenji chuckled. Seems like there were people he could get along with here besides Akira.

“So, you skateboard?” he asked.

“Skateboard, snowboard, rollerskates, scooter. parasailing, ice skating, MM-X, rallycross, BASE jumping, surfboarding, free diving, flow riding, kite buggy, freestyle ice climb-” she said, counting off each one before Kenji cut her off.

“Wait, MM-X? What’s MM-X?” he asked.

“Mixed-Martial… uh… X.” Setsuki said, her eyes drifting to the side as she thought about the last part.

“You… you didn’t finish the acronym?” Kenji asked, baffled.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what the acronym is! No one’s gonna watch me and go ‘Hey, look at that acronym!’ They’re gonna see me and go ‘Whoa! Setsuki Yori is the coolest, man!’ Ya know?!” she said. Though Kenji wasn’t sure what she was even talking about, he instantly knew how she felt about it.

“I think so… anyway, I should probably meet the others, right?”

“Right on. Seeya, Kenji.” Setsuki said, shooting a finger gun at him. “Ba-bang.”

Kenji headed off to find someone else to talk to, bumping into the woman with the nail bat. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing! You wanna go, ya little shit?!?” The woman said, turning to Kenji with a sneer. Despite her only being a few inches taller than him, the long black coat she was wearing and the glare she had made her feel huge. It helped she was still holding the nail bat in one of her hands.

She had billowing black hair, cold dark grey eyes, and both her arms were wrapped with hundreds of feet of bandages, with hints of blood near her knuckles, her sharp eyes were underneath an officer’s cap.

“Wait wait wait!” Kenji pleaded, his hands up to make himself seem smaller and less threatening. “It was an accident! I just... wanted to introduce myself. I’m Kenji, y’know? Don’t kill me!”

“...Feh, wuss. I’m Reiko Ono! And if you forget that I’ll throw you through the motherfuckin’ wall!” she said, dropping her bat.

**Reiko Ono: Ultimate School Delinquent.**

Kenji sat on the floor, shaking but also taking in all the f-bombs she dropped. Reiko swore like an R-rated movie, but he didn’t feel like bringing it up for fear of agitating her further. He was suddenly hoisted up from the floor. “Stand tall, classmate! You’re not gonna just lie on the floor and get yourself pinned, are you?” said a woman who stood taller than him and just an inch over Reiko.

“And who the fuck are you?” Reiko asked as Kenji turned to see his savior. A tall, rather busty woman with the brightest dyed orange, red and pink colored hair he’s ever seen, she had tan skin and bright, courageous green eyes. She was clad in a black tank-top and shorts, a white elbow pad on her right elbow.

“Well, potty mouth, I’m Miho Ishii! The Strike Queen!” she said, gripping the edge of her shirt and stretching it to show the large white lettering of “MIHO ISHII. STRIKE QUEEN.”

**Miho Ishii: Ultimate Joshi. Strike Queen.**

“Strike Queen? The fuck does that mean?” Reiko asked, cocking her eyebrow slightly at her.

“I’m the best wrestler in all of STARSTRUCK, a two-time Queen of the Stars, legendary for her Heaven’s Elbow!” Miho exclaimed, tapping her elbow. “And if you wanna fight, go right ahead,” she said, cracking her knuckles.

“Wrestling? You do that fuckin’ fake shit?” Reiko said, snorting dismissively. Within seconds, Miho’s cocky, energetic smile faded.

“You wanna say that again or do you like having all of your teeth, bitch?” Miho asked, locking heads with Reiko, both growling deeply at each other. Kenji slowly backed away from them, not wanting to be anywhere near them lest a fight breaks out. He once again bumped into another classmate, letting out a high-pitched yelp.

“Ahh! I’m sorry! I wasn’t looking, don’t hurt me!” Kenji exclaimed, panicked as he turned to see a very feminine looking person for once, wearing a sweater and a necklace around their neck. They had black hair with three pink streaks on one side with blue eyes.

“Just be careful next time, alright?” he said with his plainly male voice, completely betraying the appearance he had, especially since he was shorter than Kenji. “Good… well, I don’t really know what time it is, but I’m Akami Sakiko,” he said with a polite smile.

**Akami Sakiko: Ultimate Makeup Artist.**

“According to this little paper Rio gave me… You’re a makeup specialist?” Kenji asked, cross-checking the paper with the feminine man in front of him.

“ARTIST!” Akami said, nearly jabbing the wooden end of a brush an inch from Kenji’s face. Kenji backed away slightly.

“Wh-whoa! Calm down, I was just reading off the paper!” Kenji stammered out.

“Makeup is the tapestry I lay my art upon! I will not have you or anyone else sully it with such soulless words as ‘specialist’ do you understand?” Akami asked, eyes cold with anger.

“Okay, got it. Just stop pointing a brush at me!” Kenji said. Akami gently poked him on the nose with the brush.

“That will be your punishment, sinner,” Akami said before walking off. “Good day to you, Kenji Taisei.”

Kenji watched him walk off, bewildered. Was everyone at this school a lunatic? Akira, Rio, and Setsuki were friendly, but how long would that last? He walked off in a haze, bumping once again into someone. Kenji looked to see the tallest, broadest, toughest looking dude yet. He gulped, hoping that he wouldn’t notice him from his peripheral view. However, the young man turned his head to him.

“Oh no…” Kenji said under his breath. “H-hi, I’m Kenji Taisei.” He said nervously. For some reason, his voice came out the highest pitch it’s ever been out of sheer terror. The imposing figure with wild hair tamed under a bandana looked him over with dark blue eyes, smiling with pointed teeth that only made Kenji frightened further.

“Hey. I’m Haru Yamada. Nice to meet you, Kenji.” Haru said with a small bow of the head.

**Haru Yamada: Ultimate Dog Trainer.**

Kenji sighed in relief, fearing Haru would’ve buried him into the floor for looking at him wrong. He then heard a squeaky sound coming from Haru, seeing movement in his jacket pocket. Soon, the source of the noise poked out of Haru’s pocket.

It was a small Pomeranian dog with poofy white fur and black buttons for eyes. It was cutely panting as it looked with loving eyes at Kenji.

“Oh! I almost forgot. The main star of the ‘Yamada Show!’ my dog, Kiko!” Haru exclaimed with a proud smile of his little poof ball dog.

**Kiko: Ultimate Good Dog. Arf.**

“Aww! She’s adorable!” Kenji said, reaching a hand out to pet her. Kiko put her head down, letting her new friend pet him.

“Yeah, she’s a real sweetheart. I’ve trained her to do over one hundred commands.” Haru said, Kiko letting out a happy bark. Kenji’s heart warmed up, feeling much better than he had before. “Feeling better?”

“Much better. Thanks, Haru. Thanks, Kiko.” Kenji said with a big smile.

“Arf.” Kiko barked very quietly.

“You’re welcome, Kenji. Nothing like a happy doggy to help put people in a good mood.” Haru said, leading Kiko back to his pocket. “I’m gonna try with that kid at the door,” he said, walking toward Yukiji. Kenji went to find someone new to talk to. This time, someone bumped into Kenji.

“Whoa! Oof!” she said as she hit the floor.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t see you there. Need some help?” Kenji asked, offering a hand.

“You WANTED TO SAY THAT, DIDN’T YOU!?” the smaller girl said, hopping back onto her feet and pumping both of her fists. She was… quite a clash of colors, her long pink hair having occasional braids in it, and matching pink eyes. She was wearing a green basketball jersey with the number 1 and the name ‘Okamoto’ on it.

“No… I just actually didn’t see you.” Kenji said, the anger from the girl’s face subsiding somewhat.

“Okay okay okay okay okay okay okay… calm now.” She replied, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. “Sorry, I get a little touchy about my height. I’m Hana Okamoto,” she said.

**Hana Okamoto: Ultimate Basketball Star.**

“Weirdly, you might be one of the people I actually remember,” Kenji said, gently rubbing underneath his chin as he looked at her. “You’re like… one of the best basketball players in Japan, despite still being in high school.”

“Hell yeh! It’s all about those ups, boy! I got the mad ups! What do you say to that?!?” Hana said excitedly.

“Good… good ups?” Kenji said, not sure what to say to that.

“Yeh! Get dunked!” Hana said, pumping her fist in the air. Another young woman chuckled, walking over to them.

“Glad I’m not the only one who got dunked,” she said, Kenji getting a good look at her. She had blonde hair tied in a ponytail and light blue eyes covered by plastic glasses. She had a warm, friendly smile on her face as she offered Kenji a hand, clad in a leather work glove. Just looking at her outfit of the glasses, glove, smock and thick brown leather boots she must be…

**Emi Nakayama: Ultimate Carpenter.**

“I’m Emi. Emi Nakayama. You need it? I’ll make it.” she said, Kenji shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Emi. I’m Kenji Taisei.” Kenji said, glad that his sweaty palms were covered up by the glove. ‘Okay, I thought Akira was cute, but wow…’ he thought to himself, Emi just smiling to him.

“Likewise… are you okay? You’re… still shaking my hand.” Emi said, Kenji quickly pulling his hand away. Unfortunately, he still had her hand in his and pulled her onto him, sending them both to the floor.

“Ahhh! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-” Kenji sputtered out as Emi got up, giggling and picking up her fallen glasses and putting them back on.

“A bit forward, don’t you think, Kenji?” Emi said as she got off, playfully winking at him. Kenji turned beet red, Hana sneaking up to his ear.

“Get dunked!” she whispered, running off and laughing, Kenji turning and looking back at Hana, wondering what that was and why she did that. As he got off, he saw Emi walking off, giving him a friendly wave. He waved back, thoroughly embarrassed as he looked for the last few people he hadn’t met yet. There were two boys and one girl, opting for the boy with the blonde faux-hawk as his hair was more normal compared to the girl’s long purple hair and the other boy’s green hair that looked to be made of spikes.

“Hey, I’m Kenji Taisei,” he said, shaking hands with this classmate, though his faux-hawk and his offensively pastel popped collar jacket did not make it easy to look at him.

“Hello~ Kenji Taisei! My name is ‘Bam’ Takahashi, the Ultimate Sports Commentator!” he said with a loud baritone.

**Bam Takahashi: Ultimate Sports Commentator.**

“Do you always talk like that?” Kenji asked, Bam nodding enthusiastically.

“Yes! As a commentator, I need to maintain a voice of perfect composure and volume! I can’t miss a single rhythm, or I won’t be able to perform at my best level!” Bam nearly shouted with a grin.

“Well, I guess, but maybe you could turn it down…?” Kenji asked hopefully.

“Absolutely not! I can’t lose this volume or I may never get it back!” Bam shouted, getting louder with each sentence.

“O-okay… nice to meet you, Bam. I’m gonna go talk to the spiky-haired kid.” Kenji said, needing to get out of here with his hearing intact.

“Very well! I shall go and speak with the woman with the baseball bat!” Bam said, volume rising once more.

“Good luck with that…” Kenji said in a hushed tone before walking over to the somewhat chubby boy with a massive net of green spikes wearing two long coats overtop the other, a small black leather card case clipped to his belt. He was talking to the purple-haired girl or trying to, showing her various colorful cards and explaining them to her. However, she seemed uninterested in what he had to say.

“I’ve told you my name, so why not tell me yours? I will tell you once again, my name is Yukata Watanabe, will you accept my challenge to a duel?!”

**Yukata Watanabe: Ultimate Card Game Player.**

The woman with purple hair was standing against the wall, both of her hands tucked into the pockets of the tuxedo she was wearing, with a purple tie that matched her hair, her eyes were closed as if she was completely ignoring him.

“Airi Kudo.” She replied with a dead, disinterested sounding voice.

**Airi Kudo: Ultimate ???**

“Hey, you two. Uhm… I’m Kenji. Are you guys busy with something?” Kenji asked, walking between the two of them and looking at Yukata’s flustered expression.

“FINALLY someone who actually introduced themselves to me, this Airi lady has been ignoring me since I got out of the locker with her…” He said, looking at the ground.

Suddenly, a whirring sound caught the ears of everyone, turning their attention back to the center as Monokuma leaped out of the hole once again.

“Fiiiiinnally. That took FOREVER! So how about this… Let’s get the party started, people. Okay?” Monokuma asked, crossing both of his arms over his chest as the group slowly coalesced to see what he has to say.


	2. PROLOGUE, PART 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We continue to meet the students Kenji is trapped with.

Prologue - Part 2: First Admission to Enoshima University

The group finally finished their greetings at Monokuma gathered everyone’s attention, all standing to one side of him so he wouldn’t have to turn his head to address all of them. Kenji slowly met back up with Akira so they could stand beside each other and try to grasp the situation a little better. 

“Now, isn’t everyone happy they’ve gotten a little more acquainted with one another? Friendship is such a beautiful thing…” He said, pretending to wipe a tear from one of his fake eyes. 

“So, what the fuck are we doing he-” Reiko began to complain, but Monokuma swiftly cut her off by talking over her. 

“Before one of you decide to smart off to me again, I guess I’ll explain the circumstances you all find yourselves in.” Monokuma said, softly clearing his throat before he began his speech. “It would be absolutely wonderfulriffic if you all get more familiar with each other, since for the foreseeable future… the group in front of you will be the only company keep.” Monokuma announced, murmuring coming from the small crowd of students as he continued.

“Because I want to introduce you all to the wonderful, climactic, dramatic, exciting, prosperous, fantastic daily life at the first ever Killing Game University!” He said with an excited fist pump, even going for a small hop into the air. 

“Did… he just say ‘killing game’ Akira?” Kenji leaned over to his acquaintance, but she was too focused on what he was going to say next to reply right away. 

“I bet some of you are gonna be like ‘What the eff is killing game university supposed to mean?’ But…. please. This is exposition, and daddy Monokuma will explain everything you need to know.” He said, mocking Reiko’s gruffer sounding voice, causing Reiko to bite her lower lip out of annoyance and anger. 

“From here on, all 16 of you will be trapped inside this school. Every day, night, afternoon, birthday, breakfast, lunch and dinner will be held inside this school. This is your life now, got it?” Monokuma continued, which made Kenji’s hair stand on the back of his neck.

“So we all got kidnapped and forced to stay in this school?” Setsuki asked, spinning the a skateboard wheel while she talked to keep herself from getting too nervous. 

“Well if I got into the circumstances of how you guys got to this school, that would be spoilers. So…. Eh close enough, Setsuki.” Monomuka said, gently gesturing a hand to her before getting back to the task at hand. 

“So, what does being trapped here entail? It means that there’s only one way I will let you leave.” He said, reaching behind his back and pulling out a remote. 

“You must successfully commit murder. Only then will I allow you to graduate from this school.” He said, his playful voice dropping for a bit for something a bit more serious. The confusion turned the quiet hall into a room full of volume, confused and exasperated gasps, exclamations of ‘What?’ ‘Why?’ and a minimum of one instance of the words ‘The fuck?’ 

“Now… I could stay here for all the whos n’ whats n’ whys… But I think it would be easier if I gave you all one of these!” He said, pushing the button he was holding. A large amount of tablets fell from the ceiling, hitting some of the students on the head, others landing on the floor with a loud crack.

“I like to call these Monopads! Each one of you will get one! When you boot it up, it should have your name on it. Don’t trade em, don’t break em, because you only get one, kay?” He finished on one more comment. “The killing game has begun, how this plays out is up to all of you, have fun~” Before hopping back into the hole he came from, leaving a room full of confused students.

Kenji bent down, since his tablet just missed his head, scooping it off of the floor and pushing the small button on the side to turn it on.

Kenji Taisei

The Monopad loaded up to a main screen with several options available. A clock, a map of the current building they were in, along with the position of the last room each student was seen in. A very strange option on the menu was ‘School Regulations.’ He selected the option, each rule taking up the screen, with a button to sift between each regulation.

#1: Students are required to cohabitate together in the facility for the foreseeable future.

#2: If and when a murder in the university is committed, a class trial will be conducted. Participation for this trial is mandatory for all living students. 

#3: If the killer (Referred to as ‘The Blackened’ from this point on) is identified and voted guilty in the class trial, they will be subject to punishment.

#4: If the Blackened is either misidentified, or cannot be identified during the class trial, all the students who are not the Blackened will be punished instead. 

#5: If the Blackened survives the class trial for the murder they committed, they will graduate from the killing game and will be allowed to enter the outside world. 

#6: The innocent students, also known at The Spotless will continue to hold class trials, the trials will stop if two Spotless remain.  
#7: Nighttime is between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM, certain facilities such as the cafeteria and the gymnasium will be locked until morning.

#8: Violence against Dean Monokuma is strictly prohibited and will be severely punished (Especially if it’s Reiko)

#9: Monokuma is not allowed to participate, or be an accomplice to any of the murders, Class trials will ALWAYS have a Blackened, and ALWAYS have a victim. 

#10: Monopads are the key to your survival in the academy. Do not dispose of, or damage them. 

#11: A body will count as discovered when 3 students besides the Blackened witness the body.

#12: The students are free to explore the academy as they see fit, but are not allowed to break any locks that another student hasn’t locked themselves. 

#13: Monokuma can add new regulations when he deems it necessary. 

The rules he read seemed consistent, but… still absurd to him. He looked over to his friend, Akira, who was quietly scrolling through each of the rules herself with a blank look on her face. Was this real? 

“I guess it’s true, this really is a killing game... “ Emi spoke quietly to break up the noise. Shiro looked at her and sighed, putting his tablet into his coat pocket as he slowly turned to the rest of the students. 

“According to regulation 12, we should explore the school uninhibited. Perhaps we could find a place where we can escape.” he spoke, his voice going over the crowd clearly. “To that end, you shall be divided into groups. Agreed?” he asked, the group murmuring to each other before Reiko spoke up.

“Hey! Who the fuck said you were the leader?” she shouted, Shiro scowling.

“I’m the leader because I -AM- a leader. If you don’t have a better idea then kindly shut up and acquiesce to my ideas.” Shiro said, pushing up his glasses.

“He does have a point. We’ll cover more ground if we go in groups.” Emi said in agreement. The others were not enthused about Shiro’s declaration of leadership, but agreed that he had the right idea. Kenji looked at the crowd, seeing Airi slip away from the crowd and leaving the main hall.

“Now then, group A shall be….” He said, nearly pointing to random people in the crowd, like he really had no preference as to who goes where. “Taisei, Kazue, Chimon and… Ono.” he said, a smirk slowly forming as he pointed to Reiko. “There are three major floors to this complex according to the map we have, so your task is to investigate the third floor.” 

“Oh, FUCK that noise! You’re just doin’ this to piss me off, ya prick!” Reiko shouted and ran for Shiro, only for Miho to grab her at the waist.

“Calm down or I will suplex you!” she warned Reiko, lifting her by the lapel of her leather coat, slightly off of her feet. Reiko just gripped her wrist tightly enough for veins to form on her hand. 

“Let go of me, bitch! I will put nails in your fuckin’ head!” Reiko snarled out. Miho spit on the ground before glaring at her.

“And if you do that, you’re fucking dead. Remember the rule about class trials? Now quit acting like a scared puppy and do something useful for once.” Miho shot back, which Reiko met with silence. She dropped her bat to her side once more, Miho setting her down.

“Good, now that we have that out of the way. Group B will be Ishii, Yori, Okamoto and Takahashi. You will travel to the second floor.” Shiro said, Setsuki and Hana high-fiving in the crowd before running up to meet with Miho. “Groups C and D will be smaller groups of three. Group C will be Yamada, Nakayama and Daisuke. They will investigate the eastern half of the ground floor.” he declared, getting little argument from the trio.

“And Group D will be Watanabe, Sakiko and Kurotsuki. They will cover the western sections of the ground floor. Any questions?” Shiro said, Akira raising her hand. “Kazue, you may speak.”

“What about you and Airi? Wouldn’t four groups of four be better?” she asked.

“Kudo has chosen to move on her own and I will be investigating the University library. Besides, I’ve been in contact with you dregs for far too long and would rather be alone. Now then, I will be searching through the library on the third floor if anyone needs me.” Shiro said, walking through the crowd and stopping at the door.. “Please, don’t need me. We’ll report what we’ve learned in the main hall after 2 hours.” he advised before going through the door.

Everything soon came together into their groups, Yukiji walking over to Akira and Kenji. “So, where are we going first?” he asked. Kenji pulled up the map on his Monopad.

“The weird part is, all the rooms don’t have names on them, they’re just… pictures of stuff. One’s a hammer, another is a book.” Kenji stated, scrolling the map around. “Maybe they want us to go there to see what is really is.”

“Well, the book might be the library, so we can forget about going there… how about the hammer?” Akira said, Reiko soon joining up with the three.

“Let’s get this fuckin’ over with, then!” she exclaimed, Yukiji moving closer to Akira and further from the fired-up Reiko.

“She’s very loud.” Yukiji quietly complained to Akira, who nodded and lightly took a step forward, leading the group back to the staircase.

“Alright everyone, single file, no shoving.” she said, turning around and guiding her three classmates up the staircase. Reiko checked Akira into the rail as she passed, grumbling as she walked up the staircase to the third floor.

Kenji watched as Group B followed them, but they dispersed around the second floor, so they continued up to the third one before stopping at the top. There was a hallway with signage stating the direction of each room.

One was a sign pointing left, stating Library, Class 3-A and 3-B. To the right was Workshop, Exercise Room, and Janitor’s closet, along with class 3-C. “So, we’re going right then.” Kenji said, leading the group along the hall and into the workshop first. Inside were a series of workbenches, lined four by four with toolboxes on top of each. The walls were lined with wrenches and hammers of various sizes, along with large plastic drawers full of various nuts, bolts, and pulleys. “Looks normal enough. Think there’s a bench for each of us.” Kenji observed. 

“Okay, so now we’ve got the Janitor’s closet.” Akira said, pointing to the Mop icon on her map. They went to the Janitor’s closet, finding a tight space with cleaning product and supplies along several shelves, a mop and bucket in the center with boxes of trash bags on the shelf behind it. Nothing out of the ordinary. Next to the closet was a room marked with a trash bag. Inside there was a large steel chute and rubber gloves on the wall. “Hm, looks to be a trash chute. Must be here so it’s easier to bring down trash from the third floor.” Kenji stated, looking into it.

Yukiji gently tucked his hands into his pockets, leaning over to look at it. “Is it bad I kind of wanna ride down it?” He commented. But Akira just quietly shook her head at that.

“It’s probably all trash on the bottom, It would be pretty gross.” She replied, Yukiji immediately sulking at losing his opportunity to slide. 

They had one more room to investigate, the Exercise Room. It was probably the largest room on this floor, with several pieces of equipment inside; treadmills, weights, exercise balls, yoga mats, punching bags for power and speed, vending machines full of snacks and water and fresh towels. On the walls were various posters of Monokuma with motivational words slapped on in large, obnoxious fonts. “Hah! My kind of fuckin’ place!” Reiko said with a smile as everyone looked over the machines.

“Everything looks to be normal. Maybe this was just a joke. Like a really elaborate prank.” Kenji mused. The only thing common in the rooms was that the windows were barred shut with the same metal sheets that had covered the classroom. Yukiji walked over to the vending machine and tried to put yen into it.

“Hm? The vending machine isn't taking my yen…” Yukiji said, Reiko walking over to it.

“Oh yeah? Well, let’s see if it takes nails!” she said, drawing back her bat and ready to swing.

“A-hem~ I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Monokuma said, appearing in the exercise room without any warning, startling everyone.

“Where the fuck did you come from, Bear?!?” Reiko exclaimed in shock.

“See now, these vending machines are specially crafted to only accept… Monocoins! Ta-daaaaa~” Monokuma exclaimed, showing a shining copper coin emblazoned with his face on it. “All students get 20 Monocoins to start, which you keep in these Monopouches!” he said, pulling up a small black-and-white pouch modeled with his face on it.

“...Does everything you have need the word “Mono” in front of it?” Kenji asked.

“It’s called branding, kiddo! It’s how we keep Enoshima University running! Now then, you can spend Monocoins at the vending machines, laundry machines and the MonoMono machine in the entrance hall for special prizes! There’s coins scattered all around the school and you’ll all be rewarded after each class trial with additional Monocoins!” Monokuma explained, tossing pouches to the four students in front of him.

“By the way, your dorm rooms are all on the second floor. I marked everyone’s faces on each of them so you’ll know where to stay. By the way, if you break that vending machine, I ain’t fixing it!” He said, before slipping into a wall somewhere. Everyone blinked in confusion, Yukiji putting a Monocoin into the machine and getting a KitKat out of it.

“So, all we’ve got left is the classrooms. Might not be much there, but we got plenty of time.” Akira sid, the group leaving the gym and going through all the classrooms. Searching through the desks found papers, pencils, notebooks and Monocoins. Akira took one of the notebooks, before grabbing a pen and tucking it underneath her arm. Otherwise it was the same boarded windows, TV monitors and moving cameras as with every room. Reiko became bored with the thorough examination, storming off from the group and heading for the library.

“Huh? W-wait! Reiko!” Kenji said, chasing after her. Reiko kicked at the door as hard as she could.

“Hey Shiro! The third floor’s done! Can we get going?!?” Reiko demanded, kicking harder and harder at the door. She reared back for another kick only for the door to swing open, Reiko falling through the doorway as she kicked

“Did you really have to kick the door?” Airi asked, holding the door with a book in her other hand. Her eyes were glued to the book as Reiko pulled herself up.

“Fuck you…” she muttered, walking over to Shiro and spinning the swivel chair he sat in to face her. “Hey Shiro! Are you deaf?!? I said we fuckin’ finished the third floor! Get your ass out of the chair!” she shouted, Shiro glaring back at her. Kenji stood next to Airi, watching the intense staring contest in front of them.

“So… you and Shiro have been in the library together?” Kenji asked.

“We’ve been in library, but not together. I was conducting my own research and stopped here to read and relax.” Airi said.

“Wait, how did you get here without us seeing you?” Kenji said, never seeing her in the third floor hall during their search.

“Guess it’d be because I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Airi said, still sounding strangely tired.

Airi Kudo. Ultimate Lucky Student

“That’s lucky?” Kenji asked.

“When you’re trying to avoid people, I’d call that very lucky.” Airi replied. Kenji simply shrugged and turned back to Reiko and Shiro, Shiro finally shutting his book and standing up.

“Fine. If you didn’t find a way out, then I don’t need you. Do whatever you want until the meet-up.” Shiro said, walking around Reiko and walking off.

“...Oh wow, I forgot we were looking for a way out of here.” Kenji said, feeling immensely embarrassed to have forgotten the entire point of the groups.

“Are you fuckin’ with me Kenji?!? The whole time we were looking for a way out, you were just looking at the rooms?!” Reiko screamed at him, getting right in his face and backing him into the wall. Kenji sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I forgot, okay? Do you know how much stuff you can forget in a lifetime? Get off my case…” he complained to the angry woman made entirely of anger. She just sneered, rolling her eyes.

“30 minutes after being told we’re in a murder game and dipshit’s all ‘OOH, TREADMILLS!’ Jesus Christ, we’re so fucked in here.” she muttered, walking off. Akira entered the library with Yukiji in tow.

“There you are, Kenji! I got good news!” Akira said with a triumphant smile.

“You found a way out?” Kenji asked, eyes sparking with hope.

“...Sorry no. But I did make an inventory of all the classrooms, the closet, workshop and exercise room!” Akira said, holding up her notebook. She had good penmanship, but all the words were tiny, and Kenji was just confused by her spending this whole time taking inventory. 

“...Why would you take an inventory of all the stuff in the rooms?” Kenji inquired.

“It’s all about procedure, Kenji. You gotta keep things organized and accounted for future investigations! It’ll make stuff easier.” She exclaimed with the dorkiest smile plastered on her face. 

“You’re getting way too excited about this, Akira.” he said, Akira bopping Kenji with her notebook.

“Procedure!” she said, Kenji rubbing his forehead. Now then, I need to get all these books written down in alphanumeric order! The Dewey decimal system is for chumps. C’mon, Yukiji. You can hold the books while I write them down!” Akira said enthusiastically, running in with Yukiji following her, expression unchanged.

“Well, have fun… so, Airi, you wanna help them-” Kenji said to dead silence, Airi was already across the room, not even looking at him anymore. Kenji sighed, heading down to the second floor. He walked through seeing rooms marked with a syringe, a VHS tape and blue and pink toilets. Then he saw small cartoonish versions of everyone’s faces along a long hallway, boys of the left and girls on the right.

“Those must be the dorms. Guess it would be nice to check out how we’re sleeping here.” Kenji said, walking through the halls on the way to his dorm when he suddenly slipped on something on the floor, his eyes too focused on his Monopad to notice until he was already falling. He then landed on something… or rather someone.

“Ahh!”

“Oof! Ow… ack! Emi! I-I’m sorry!” Kenji said as he scrambled to get off her. Emi giggled and sat herself up.

“We have got to stop landing on each other, Kenji.” she said, adjusting her protective glasses. “Sorry about the mess on the floor. I was gonna kick off my boots and relax, but Hana pointed out that one of the rooms wouldn’t open so I grabbed my tools and got to work opening it.” she explained, waving her hand over an assortment of small tools taken out of a blue toolbox, including the screwdriver Kenji tripped on.

“In the hallway?” Kenji asked, head tilted in bewilderment.

“Well, I’m not gonna be able to break it open from my dorm room, am I?” Emi said, giggling that same sweet giggle. Her laugh was like music to Kenji and her smile always made him just a little weak in the knees.

“W-well, no. But why this room? I mean, isn’t there a regulation against breaking into other student’s dorms?” Kenji asked, double-checking his Monopad.

“That’s the thing, though. This is the only dorm room without anyone’s face on it. This isn’t a student dorm and none of our Monopasses worked on it.” Emi explained, Kenji flipping back from the Regulations to the Map screen. Emi wasn’t lying, the dorm was listed on the map but there wasn’t a face on there. This was an empty dorm room.

“Well, I dunno know if you should be messing with it. I mean, if Monokuma finds out about-” Kenji began, Monokuma popping between them.

“If Monokuma finds out about what?” the bear asked, feigning curiosity. Kenji and Emi jumped back in surprise. How did Monokuma keep appearing without warning?

“Ahh! Wh-where did you come from?!?” Emi asked, Monokuma picking up a screwdriver off the floor. “Hey! Put that down!” she exclaimed, reaching for it.

“Hmmm? What’s thiiis?” Monokuma said, looking over the screwdriver. “Emi Nakayama, were you trying to get into the 17th dorm room?” he asked, jabbing the screwdriver close to her face.

“Ahh! W-wait! I can explain!” Emi said, shaking slightly as Monokuma drew the screwdriver closer to her eye.

“Need I remind you that students are not allowed to break any locks that a student hasn’t locked themselves as per Regulation #12 of Enoshima University!” Monokuma threatened, Kenji grabbing Monokuma’s wrist. However, this startled Dean Monokuma, making him swing around and jab the tip of the screwdriver into Kenji’s palm. “Monokuma Flying Kick!” he called out, kicking Kenji onto the floor.

“Ahh! Kenji!” Emi cried out, running to help him while Monokuma let out a hearty guffaw.

“Ahhhhahahahaha~ You're not the sharpest tool in the box, are you Kenji? You’re really going to stick your neck out for a girl who broke University Regulations? Thinkin’ with your lower head’s a quick way to die, Kenji~” Monokuma taunted.

“Anh! Look, she didn’t want to break the door, I.. I asked her to do it! I was curious!” Kenji lied, sucking in the pain in his hand, drips of his blood hitting the checker patterned floor.

“Oh? Well, that doesn’t change much…” Monokuma mumbled, turning his back to them for a bit before turning back around. “But I think you’ve been punished enough! Don’t want the first death in this school to be my fault, y’know!” he said, letting out another manic laugh.

“D-death?” Kenji said, gulping slightly.

“Jeez, does anyone know what the hell death is? Everyone’s been lollygaggin’ around since I announced it. I want some grrrravitas~ Drama! Action! Romance! Betrayal! Fear! You guys are GONNA die. Act like it, alright?” Monokuma groused before disappearing again.

Emi forced Kenji to his feet. “Emi… I hit my head on the way here so I don’t remember much. Do you have any idea at all who could have trapped us here?” he asked, Emi shaking her head.

“No, but I don’t think that’s important right now, Kenji! We gotta get you to the nurse’s office!” Emi said, panic in her voice as she dragged Kenji through the hall. Within no time, Emi had forced out the screwdriver, putting pressure on Keni’s hand to keep blood from spilling out all over the floor, covering the palm with gauze and wrapping it into a knot to keep it attached to his hand.

“Man, if I die first of Tetanus I’ll be pissed.” Kenji said.

“You had your shot, right?” Emi asked, Kenji having to pause and think.

“...I don’t remember, actually.” he said sheepishly, Emi giggling before her smile dropped again.

“Kenji, look, you didn’t have to stick up for me. That was dangerous, lying to Monokuma like that.” She said, guilt in her voice.

“Hey, I don’t care what Monokuma says. In this situation, we’re all friends here. I’ll cover for any of you guys if you ever need it. Except Shiro, probably…” Kenji said, Emi laughing again.

“Ha ha! Now I see what Rio was saying about you being the Ultimate Volunteer. You need anything to pay you back?” she asked. Kenji began to think, before turning to face her.

“Honestly… All the stuff I’ve done was for a ‘thank you.’ I’m not really money driven, I guess I just like feeling appreciated.” Kenji said.

“I could give you a hundred, thousand thanks! That’s not enough! I owe you my life! What can I -do- for you, Kenji!” Emi said, eyes firey with determination. The gears turned faster in Kenji’s head, causing him to stumble a bit before he came up with something.

“Uh.. umm… well, maybe you could work on getting the metal off the windows!” he blurted out, Emi’s determined look dropping.

“That’s a bit out of my element, Kenji. The metal over the windows are cold rolled, corrugated high carbon count heat treated stainless steel, secured with a TIG weld and rivets every inch. I could only get through those if I had my plasma cutter.” She explained, but Kenji just had a blank stare.

“What?”

“...I can’t cut metal with a handsaw, Kenji! I’d need a plasma cutter!” Emi said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. However, a small spark went off in Kenji’s head.

“Wait, I think there is a plasma cutter in the school!” Kenji exclaimed, Emi looking at him quizzically.

“Y-yeah! Akira wrote down everything in the third floor! There’s a plasma cutter in the workshop!” Kenji said, Emi wrapping her arms around him.

“Ahhhh! You’re the best, Kenji!” she cried, Kenji burning up before Emi pulled herself off. “I’ll grab it and get those windows free in no time! Seeya!” Emi said cheerfully, waving goodbye as she rushed out of the nurse’s office. Kenji took some time for his heart to stop racing before jumping off the futon and heading downstairs to wait for the rest of the people to finish their search.


	3. Chapter 1, Daily Life 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is this place, some kind of converted college?

Chapter 1: Intentions of Hope (Daily Life 1)

Kenji slowly made his way back down to the stairs, quietly nursing his wound as he waited for other people to finish their search. The pain surged slowly, before quietly fading to a dull ache. The gauze wasn’t put on in particularly the best way, so his blood was starting to seeping into his bandage. 

The first people to meet up with him was group D. Dahlia, Yukata, and Akami. “Hey, Kenji.” Akami said, casually waving at him as he re-entered the room to start their meeting. 

Kenji waved back. “Hi guys.” He said with a smile, though he was unconsciously waving his wounded hand, which made the three of them take notice.

“What happened to your hand?” Yukata asked, Kenji inspecting his wound as everyone else noticed. “Did you get into a fight, or anything?” He continued, Kenji furrowed his brow a bit, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I pissed off Monokuma… tried to break a lock and he didn’t take kindly to that.” Kenji explained, Yukata looking a bit confused by that. 

“You literally just read that you weren’t supposed to do that, right?” Yukata mentioned, which made Kenji roll his eyes as he slowly paced in front of them.

“Yes. I know I wasn’t supposed to do that. I just… didn’t know who locked it, so I tried anyway using some of the tools from upstairs.” Kenji replied, as group C approached next. 

Haru and Rio approached next, both with a smile on their faces. “We’re done exploring our half of the bottom floor! It’s a lot bigger of a building than I thought.” Rio said, opening his mouth to try and explain, before Haru cut him off.

“Well, we should wait until everyone gets here, so we don’t have to repeat ourselves. Isn’t that right, Kiko?” he asked his little dog, who was perched on his shoulder like a parrot. She quietly started panting, giving a cute bark in response. 

“You guys see Emi by the way? She sorta ran off while me and Rio were exploring the gymnasium.” Haru mentioned, tilting his head away from his dog as she casually scratched her own ear. 

“As soon as she heard from me there was a workshop on the third floor, she bolted up to get some more tools. She should be back soon.” Kenji explained, getting a nod from the two men of the C team. Kenji then noticed Dahlia was bent down, head tilted upward toward his hand. “...Can I help you?” he asked.

“Oh dear~ your wound appears to be dripping blood… the sweet essence of mortal life just draining from you and spilling to the floor. Such a waste of crimson panacea. A shame…” Dahlia said, speaking with a strained British accent, her voice an unsettling mixture of sensual and refined. She took her hand in his, letting out a soft moan of ecstasy before taking a bloodstained hand away, licking the blood off her fingers.

“AHHH! Don’t do that ever!” Kenji said, thoroughly creeped out.

“Yeah, she was doing that when I got a paper cut off one of my cards.” Yukata said, clearly still uncomfortable since he was pretty pale in the face.

“Your mortal coil is weak. The taste of your essence tells me you have a weak ambition, unbefitting of one of my thralls. Away with you!” she stated, shoving Kenji off with one of her hands with unnecessary dramatics. Kenji fell back slightly, still standing on his feet.

“...Does Monokuma sell restraining orders?” Kenji asked, Yukata simply shrugging.

“Tell me, young Taisei. Kiruma had sent you with Yukiji. Do you know where he could possibly be?” she asked, but Kenji was still feeling a tingling in his spine.

“H-he’s with Akira. Apparently she wants to.., catalogue books or something.” Kenji explained, Dahlia nodded, smiling a fanged smile.

“Yes, I see. So Kazue and Yukiji shall be joining us soon. I shall await his arrival.” Dahlia declared, walking away from Kenji and Yukata, lifting part of her dress, exposing her leg as she walked faster toward the staircase. Kenji looked away, his eyes drawn to the marble statue in front of him. It had Monokuma with his arms folded, but there was another figure behind him. It was a woman, with a tall, hourglass figure and long hair tied in huge pigtails on each side of her head, clipped with Monokuma heads. She was dressed in a cardigan and dress shirt, both unbutton with a tie dropping down under her chest, a mini skirt and platform-heeled boots. The crafter also took care to give the woman long nails

Kenji felt something in the back of his head when he looked at the statue, but the strange thing was he wasn’t sure what he felt, just that he felt it. He looked down at the statue’s plaque. University Founder Junko Enoshima and Monokuma.

“The founder is… actually pretty young. Weird.” Kenji said. “She looks to be my age.”

“She’s probably no longer that young. Enoshima University has been around for over twenty years. She would be in her 30’s or 40’s by now.” Akami continued. “I have to admit the marble work is exquisite, though~ You can see the cloth slightly hanging from parts of her body, to sculpt that must have taken like… the Ultimate Sculptor.” he said, admiring the craft for a bit.

“So, she founded this place when she was our age?” Kenji asked.

“It would seem so. Child prodigy and world class fashion model Junko Enoshima founded Enoshima University as a proving ground for some of the world’s greatest prospects, regardless of economic or social status.” Airi said as she suddenly appeared, hands tensed tightly. “A believer in the pinnacle of human ability, she created the Ultimates System, crowning herself the Ultimate Fashionista.”

“Whoa… that’s something else…” Kenji said, before suddenly hearing a sound coming from the sairs. He turned to see Setsuki grinding down the rail, sparks coming from the axels grinding against the metal handrail.

“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww yeaaaaaaaah!” She exclaimed, the sound rattling the ears of Kenji to the point he instinctively covered them to protect his eardrums. She kickflipped the board as she came off the rail, landing perfectly on the board and coming to a stop at the Junko statue, startling Dahlia.

“You uncouth wench! You will be my first feeding when night comes upon us!” Dahlia screeched, Setsuki shrugging as she flipped her skateboard into her hand.

“Whatever, Elvira.” Setuski said, palming her off before turning to Kenji. “Keeeeeen. What’s up!” she said, throwing up her hand. “My hype’s going cold! High-five while I’m hot!”

Kenji, baffled, goes for the high-five, letting out a yelp of pain. “OW! That was the bad hand! Why did I do that?!?” Kenji cried out, seething in pain.

“Man, you got hurt? Here, lemme help.” Setsuki said, stomping down hard on his foot.

“OW! MY FOOT! WHY DID YOU-” Kenji shouted, hopping on one foot in pain.

“Took your mind of your hand. Momma Yori would always step on my toes if I scraped an ankle while shredding. Worked like a charm.” Setsuki said cheerfully.

“WHY?!? DAMN IT!” Kenji shouted. There came the beat of footsteps as the rest of Setsuki’s team made it down.

“And Miho Ishii has lost the race down to the meeting place! What a tragedy, sports fans!” Bam exclaimed, Hana jumping for joy.

“Get dunked, Miho! I beat you!” she said boastfully.

“You still lost to Setsuki, ya know.” Miho said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, but she cheated, so I win! Get dunked!” Hana said.

“How many times has she said that?” Kenji asked.

“How many times has Reiko used foul language?” Miho joked, getting a laugh out of Kenji.

“I FUCKING HEARD THAT!” Reiko shouted as she jumped the rail, going right for Miho. “You wanna FUCKING go, ya little shit?!?” Reiko growled, stomping each step of the way and spinning her bat in her hand until Akami stood in front of her.

“We’ve done this already, shoo!” he said, whisking her with his makeup brush and getting an annoyed reaction out of her. “You heard me, She-bear. Chill out and let’s talk about what we’ve found already.” Akami said, with some barbs in his voice.

“You wanna know what we found? We found dick! We found dick because Kenji was busy looking at mops n playing hopscotch with his cop friend, instead of looking for an exit!” Reiko said with acid in her voice, pointing her bat at Kenji, more to point him out.

“The whole school is locked down, Reiko.” Emi said as she descended the stairs. “Kenji helped me find some tools to break through the windows… but no luck. Monokuma’s craftier than I thought he was.” she added, standing beside Kenji when she was finished walking.

Reiko dropped her bat, sighing in annoyance. “Fucking bear…”

Emi leaned in to Kenji, putting a hand over her mouth. “I have something I wanna show you after the meeting. Meet me at the workshop.” Emi whispered. Kenji noedding back to her as they saw Akira and Yukiji make their way down the stairs.

“Ah, Officer Kazue… Yukiji…” Dahlia said, with a bow, a hint of sweetness in her voice as she said Yukiji’s name. “You grace us with your presence. Is the library properly organized? I wish to retire there after our convocation.”

“Good luck, Shiro went back in after we left. It makes me sad. I just got done arranging all the books and he’s gonna mess them up again…” Akira said with a frown. She went to meet back up with Kenji, Dahlia offering a hand to Yukiji, who simply walked past her, a shoulder accidentally brushing her side. Dahlia smiled, shuddering a bit before following him.

“Hey Kenji. Whoa, what happened to your hand? Did Reiko try to eat you?” Akira said, looking over the loosely held bandages on his hand.

“Oh no, Monokuma hit him with a screwdriver when he tried to protect me. It was so brave of him.” Emi said.

“You make it sound like I was some knight in shining armor or something. I just kind of grabbed him and he stabbed me.” Kenji admitted, feeling even dumber saying it out loud.

“It was brave of you. Monokuma would’ve killed me if you hadn’t stepped in. Ehehehe, you kinda are my knight in shining armor, Kenji.” Emi said, blushing a bit.

“Didn’t he say he didn’t want the first kill to be something he did?” Kenji replied, but Emi just pouted at him in response. 

“I don’t think any of the things he says match his actions, Kenji.” Emi mentioned, someone as irreverent and spontaneous as Monokuma could just up and kill her if he was serious… but… was he serious?

“Well then, it would appear the peanut gallery has finally gathered together.” Shiro declared from the top of the stairs, taking slow, grandiose steps. “And since the arranged time has come, I will deign you with my presence until we’re all caught up on this school and Monokuma’s silly murder game.” he said, stopping at the statue of Junko, blinking a bit and giving a quick bow before turning and facing his classmates.

“Let’s start with the ground floor. Daisuke, what was in the eastern corridor?” Shiro asked, Rio stepping forward.

“Well, we found a kitchen and dining hall. It’s loaded with food, and most of it actually seems pretty ripe too. In the back of the dining hall is a kitchen, fully loaded like a college should be.” He continued, stroking his beard sagely. “Connected to the kitchen is a storage closet full of crates, probably full of even more food. There’s one more door behind that, but there was no way I could get through it, so we gave up there.” 

“Very good. Watanabe, eastern corridor report seems to be complete. How about the western half?” Shiro asked, Rio stepping back and letting Yukata take the front.

“We found a bathing room with changing stations, a gym next to that and a laundromat. We had Kiko sniff out each of the rooms and she mostly found some bronze coins with Monokuma on them.” Yukata said, pulling a few coins out of his pocket. The Monocoins. Seems Monokuma was telling the truth about those.

“Ah yes, and the laundromat is fully stocked with washing machines and dryers that accept these coppers. A most delightful invention if I do say-” Dahlia began before Shiro cut her off.

“Kurotsuki, did I ask for you to speak? Remain silent until you are given the floor.” Shiro ordered.

“Ah! How dare you, pitiful mortal? I’m the empress of all things ethereal, I speak to the whispers you simple beings could never possibly understand. You have the nerve to speak to me in such a manner?” Dahlia said, affronted.

“I am Shiro Kiruma. Fate sent me on the path to lead this country. A shame that you were destined to ramble like a lunatic. Now then, Watanabe. Is that all you were able to find?” Shiro asked, pushing up his glasses.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Yukata said.

“Takahashi, commentate to me what lies in the second floor.” Shiro commanded as Bam walked up, taking Yukata’s spot.

“The second floor of Enoshima University houses the Nurse’s Office, A/V Room, Men and Women’s Bathrooms and seventeen dorm rooms, sixteen assigned for the students!” Bam announced, taking half the group’s ears in the process.

“Hrm, seventeen? A possible oversight on the part of the building’s construction.” Shiro said dismissively.

“But the dorm room was locked and Monokuma was determined to-” Emi interjected.

“Nakayama, were you gathering intel on the second floor?” Shiro said.

“Well, no, but-” Emi said, taken aback slightly.

“Then I ask that you do not interrupt me again and make this meeting longer than it needs to be. You are wasting my time!” Shiro barked out, Emi going quiet and stepping back. Kenji stepped up, hand tightening into a fist.

“Ah, Taisei. I was going to ask you how your investigation into the third floor had gone. So, what did you-” Shiro said with a smug smile, not noticing Kenji’s proximity to him until Kenji had punched him right in the face. Shiro hit the floor, the crowd looking in stunned silence. Kenji gritted his teeth. In his anger, he had punched with his bad hand, causing just as much pain to himself as Shiro and opening his wound back up.

Shiro scrambled to his face, grabbing his glasses and putting him back on and glaring daggers at Kenji. “Taisei! What has gotten into you!?” he shouted, fury breaking through his calm demeanor.

“I don’t care how important you are! As long as we’re in this place, we’re all the same. Who we are before this doesn’t mean anything! I don’t know why the hell you devote yourself to your stupid fucking delusion that you’re important. Why can’t you just take a single minute to help the rest of us out if YOUR life also is at stake!?” 

“It is not delusion! I am a senator of the Japanese Diet! I have more power in my little finger than you have ever dreamed of, Taisei! And I am helping you! I organized this entire meeting to pass information to the rest of you leeches! Just because you want to focus on irrelevant nonsense like a seventeenth room doesn’t mean-” another punch silenced Shiro briefly, this time to the stomach.

“You say you want to help? Then act like it instead of trying to control us! Emi almost died because of that seventeenth room! It’s not irrelevant just because you say so!” Kenji shouted back.

“Oh, of course. Because your girlfriend says it’s important, it has to be, right?” Shiro said, devolving into pettier insults due to his wounded pride. Kenji went for another strike when he was suddenly pulled back. ”Huh?” he turned around to see Akira holding his wrist.

“That’s enough, Kenji. We’re not going to be able to survive this as a group if we go around attacking people just because we don’t like them. I’m not gonna let you keep hitting people.” Akira warned, Kenji’s fists still clenched tightly.

“Those weren’t great punches, he didn’t lean his body into it.” Miho commented out the side of her mouth to Hana.

“Just take a deep breath. Easy now…” Akira said, Kenji breathing in and taking a heavy exhale of breath. “There we go…”

Shiro chuckled, wiping his glasses with a handkerchief in his coat pocket. “Yes, there we go, Taisei. You’ll remember your mark on the food chain in due time.” he said, feeling his confident composure return, though barely hiding his joy at seeing Kenji be talked to like an untrained dog. Akira turned and glared at Shiro.

“Shiro, if you really are here to help, then you’ll stop with the insults and make this an open forum. Now that it’s clear just how well you can take a punch, it’d be smart to not make people want to punch you.” Akira warned, Shiro’s smile fading.

“Understood. Kazue, take the floor. You will be presenting the third floor.” Shiro commanded as Akira moved Kenji back, standing him next to Emi. She readied her notebook, flipping back the cover.

“Certainly, but I would like to discuss the second floor’s seventeenth dorm room. Given Monokuma’s willingness to harm a student over it, there maybe some importance to it.” Akira said.

“I think that may prove that the building we’re currently staying in wasn’t designed originally for the purpose of the killing game. Monokuma just locked off rooms to make it feel more... Thematically appropriate.” Shiro said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Well sadly, until we gather more information that might just be something we can’t really figure out.” Akira replied, before going back on subject for the third floor. “The third floor contains several classrooms along with a large library taking the majority of the western half of the floor. The eastern half has several facilities including a workshop with various tools, a room full of workout equipment, a janitor's closet and a trash chute leading to somewhere else in the building.” Akira said, reading off her notebook.

“We also found a few of those coins Group D found. They’re called Monocoins and they work on the laundry machines and the vending machines in the exercise room. Monokuma also said something about a MonoMono machine...” Kenji said, finally calmed down.

“I see. That might be referring to the gashopon machine by the entrance. A frivolous device, really.” Shiro said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Unfortunately with that… We’ve discussed all we need to discuss so far. There doesn’t seem to be an exit available to us. You’re all dismissed for now.” Shiro stated, a hand gesturing to them to break the group up. 

“Good… I was getting hungry. Maybe they have steak in the cafeteria…” Miho said, rubbing her stomach as she walked up in the direction she thought the dining hall would be.

Kenji walked off, heading for the stairs when a hand reached out and grabbed him. “Hey, Kenji!” Reiko said, Kenji turning around nervously. “That was pretty cool of you. You’re tougher than I thought.” she said, putting him off guard.

“Ah.. thanks, Reiko. I don’t think Akira’s happy with me, though…” Kenji said, looking over to see her talking to Yukiji, who looked as enthusiastic as ever.

“A few wise men once told me this, Kenji. Fuck Tha Police.” Reiko said, Kenji looking at her in bewilderment.

“Uh… right… anyway, I better get going… probably gonna get fix up my hand and then get some sleep.” he said, pulling away from the group and going for the stairs. As he made it up the second floor, he saw Emi waiting there.

“Hey, Kenji… thanks for sticking up for me like that… that was really brave of you..” she said with her hands behind her back and a smile across her face.

“Yeah, but.. I think we should both stay out of trouble for now until we learn a little more about this place.” 

“Yeah.. oh! Speaking of! We’ve got to check the third floor, right?” Emi said.

“Oh, right! Uh… maybe we could stop by the nurse’s office so I can get my hand fixed up again?” Kenji asked.

“Ah! Of course! C’mon!” Emi said, grabbing Kenji’s undamaged hand and dragging him to the nurse’s office.

After a quick bit of clean-up and replacing the bandages with fresh ones, the pair headed for the third floor and into the workshop. “So, what happened with the plasma cutter?” Kenji asked.

“Well, there was a plasma cutter, but the strange thing is all the outlets in the workshop have been severed. I can’t seem to get any current, even when I tried to hotwire the plug.” Emi explained.

“You think Monokuma had the room set like this in case anyone thought of that?” Kenji asked.

“I can’t figure out if this is situational irony, or dramatic irony!” A voice shouted out from behind both of them, Monokuma was staring back at them with a look of excitement on its face. “Maybe a little bit of both, perhaps?” He said, tilting his head.

“Where the hell do you keep coming from!?” Kenji said, legs wide from the surprise.

“I’m in the walls, baby. That’s just how I roll. I put the plasma cutter there just so you guys would get upset when you CAN’T use it! How’s that for despair? The best examples are always surprisingly underappreciated.” Monokuma replied, getting a look of annoyance from Kenji.

“G-get out of here, you stupid teddy bear!” Emi exclaimed.

“Ah-ah-ah! I’m not a teddy bear! I’m a mascot! This wouldn’t be a killing school without me, y’know. And I’d be careful going around and name-calling when you both are on… beary thin ice! Kyahaahahaaha~” Monokuma gave out a hearty laugh before disappeared again.

“God, I just… don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to feel around that guy. Am I supposed to be dour, or find him funny? Because he’s not.” Kenji said, feeling a vein throb in his forehead.

“Just ignore him. Maybe he’ll just go away eventually…” Emi said, shaking her head. 

“Anyway, I don’t think that was irony. He just added the plasma cutter as a gag.” Kenji thought aloud.

“Yeah…” Emi said, feeling defeated.

“Ah… Emi, didn’t you saw you had something to show me?” Kenji asked.

“OH! Right!” Emi replied, cheering up. “I almost forgot! While I was looking for a working outlet, I noticed something weird about one of the walls on this floor… hm, which one was it?” Emi pondered, looking over the walls.

Eventually she showed where the wall was, it was in the hallway, slightly past the workshop, but just before the janitor’s closet. The strange thing about it was the fact there seemed to be a panel sitting flush with the wall, and small joints on one side that make it look like a door.

“This door doesn’t even have a handle, why is it here?” Emi asked with a confused look on her face.

“Maybe this is a door Monokuma uses to get the drop on us.” Kenji thought, but Emi didn’t seem to agree. 

“No… The other places I’ve seen Monokuma come from close back up to be flush with the wall. This one has hinges. This door has a purpose, even though I don’t know what it is…” Emi concluded, looking over to the workshop.

“D-do you think I’d get in trouble if I tried to saw the door down?” she asked, but Kenji felt a sense of panic surge in him when she asked.

“Please don’t. I…. don’t want Monokuma to get mad at you again. He might be less forgiving if he sees you trying to break into somewhere twice.” Kenji pleaded, Emi’s expression sinking a bit.

“Y-yeah… but Monokuma won’t mind if we just watch it, right?” Emi said hopefully.

Kenji nodded, rubbing his head lost in thought. “I mean… It's not breaking the rules to look at stuff. Maybe we should take turns watching it when we have some free time.” Kenji suggested, Emi smiling and nodding.

“Alright! I’ll take the first round, then! You get yourself some sleep, Kenji! You’ve earned it!” she said, Kenji nodding and walking off, waving goodbye to Emi.


	4. Chapter 1, Daily Life 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenji buys a neat hairpiece.

Chapter 1: Intentions Of Hope (Daily Life 2)   
  
_ Ding Dong Bing Bong _ __   
  


“Ahem… Attention students of Enoshima University. It is now 10 PM, making it officially night time. Certain rooms will now be locked until morning.   
  
And remember, sleep is important for your health, so sweet dreams!”   
  
Kenji heard the announcement as he was heading back to his dorm room, he actually hasn’t gotten a chance to check it out all day since most of it was arguing and exploring the school. He opened the door to reveal his furnishings.    
  
It was a simple room with a hard wooden floor, light blue colored walls and a bed sitting against the back wall. There was a dresser filled with drawers on the opposite side of the bed, along with a small trash can. A clock was on the wall just over the dresser showing the current time.    
  
On the right hand side of the room, there was an ajar door leading to a small half bathroom with a toilet and a sink. He would have to use the shower on the first floor if he considered washing himself.    
  
There was also a small walk in closet with a sliding door, with several outfits matching the outfit he was currently wearing, despite never seeing this room before in his life.   
  
The bed actually looked fairly comfy, a full sized bed with a large plaid comforter, with a pair of white sheets underneath it and a simple pair of pillows.    
  
“Well… It’s a bedroom. I guess.” Kenji mused to himself, but as soon as he walked toward the bed, he felt a sense of exhaustion wash over him that has been lagging behind him the last few hours.    
  
He fell face first on the bed with a soft bounce, looking languidly at one of the barred windows as he felt himself drift from consciousness.    
  
Kenji didn’t dream that night. It was one of those sleeps that felt like he fell onto his bed, then got up less than 30 minutes later, if it weren’t for the announcement on his monitor and the soreness of his body.   
  
_ Ding Dong Bing Bong _ _   
_ __   
“Gooooooood morning, Students! It is now 7 AM, time to start another beautiful day in this university.” Monokuma announced over the monitors, holding a steaming hot cup of black coffee in his hand. Kenji groaned as he got up, rubbing his neck and swinging his legs over the bed.

“Morning already?” Kenji groaned, as his door slammed open, scaring him to the point he fell out of bed with a whimpered scream.   
  
“YOU LEFT YOUR DOOR UNLOCKED, IDIOT!” Monokuma shouted at him from the entrance of the door. “Jeez if you wanna die that badly just ask another student to hit you with a frying pan.” he exclaimed, but Kenji just looked at him in a grumpy haze.   
  
“I was tired…” Kenji groaned out, pushing his back to the mattress and resting his head against it as Monokuma crossed his arms, gently tapping his foot.

“I’m just sayin’ it would be awful if the first death was because -somebody- didn’t properly lock up at night! You’re just hittin’ mental home runs every time I see you Kenji. I want to go annoy someone else for being stupid just this once. Can you give me that much?” Monokuma complained.    
  
“Shut up…” Kenji muttered as he got up. “Do you mind getting out so I can get dressed?”

“Whatever! Maybe if you locked your door, this wouldn’t be a problem! Now I’m gonna go see if Setsuki’s fallen down the stairs yet or maybe see if Yukata’s spilled all of his cards on the floor! Seeeeeya later~” Monokuma said, leaving and slamming the door shut. Kenji sighed in frustration and went to the closet, sliding open and flipping through the outfits. There had to be one that was slightly different from the others. He soon found one, but it had one distasteful edition. A black-and-white tied, patterned after Monokuma. It certainly looked familiar, but he was not wearing that even if his life depended on it.

He didn’t want to look like he had nothing else to wear, so he had to think quick of how to change things up… sadly, there wasn’t much you could do with a sweater vest. “..What if I wear the sweater vest on the bottom?” Kenji mused to himself, grabbing the sweater vest and putting it on first. He ignored the itching sensation and began to put on his shirt, leaving it unbuttoned and thinking it over. “...No sleeves. I need one with no sleeves.” Kenji said, tossing off the shirt and looking around the room, finding a pair of scissors in one of the drawers. He did a sloppy cut job due to his bandaged hand, but soon he had a sleeveless shirt that he put over the sweater vest, putting on fresh slacks before checking himself in the mirror.

“...Really?” Monokuma popped in on the monitor, vanishing without another word.

“No one asked you, you… uh… Care Bear from Hell!” Kenji shouted at the monitor, shaking his fist before storming off, heading down to the first flor. He pulled his Monopad to check for the dining hall, seeing several faces popping up on his screen when he swiped to it. Seems everyone was meeting up there for breakfast. 

Kenji walked in, thinking to sit next to Akira, but she already had a small group of people seated around her; Yukiji sat across from her at the table with Akami to her left and Miho to her right. Kenji shrugged, looking for Emi only to see her sat next to Reiko. Reiko may have given him props yesterday, but that didn’t mean they were friends so he headed for another table.

“Hey! Kenji! Saved you a seat!” Rio said, pushing back a chair. At the table was Rio, Haru and Yukata, Kiko sat happily at attention on the table while Yukata flipped over cards in his deck. “Diggin’ the ‘trapped in a blender’ look, Taisei! It’s very art nouveau!”

“Look, I didn’t want to just wear the same thing and the only thing they had was a stupid Mono- the statue! That’s where I saw that tie before!” Kenji said as he sat down.

“Huh? Statue? I have a Barrier Statue deck if you’re interest-” Yukata said, looking up from his deck, before he realized no one was listening to him.

“What? No! One of my outfits had a Monokuma tie and I was wondering why it looked so familiar and it just hit me! The statue of Junko has the same tie!” Kenji exclaimed as if this were an epiphany.

“...Yeah, and?” Rio asked.

“Well… it means…” Kenji said, looking down at the table for a second. “Actually I guess it doesn’t mean all that much, huh?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it, Kenji! We’re all a bit on edge with this whole Killing Game thing.” Haru said, gently stroking the fur on the back of Kiko’s neck. “I think we should just relax as much as we can, while we find a way out.”

“That’s the spirit, Haru! Just enjoy yourselves while you’re here, ya know?” Rio said with a big grin, Yukata letting out a yelp.

“Hey! No! That’s my Nopenguin! You can’t have it, dog!” he said with a frown on his face, Kiko holding the card in her little teeth and letting out a soft growl.

“Kiko! Your food’s in the bowl!” Haru said, snapping his fingers and pointing at a small bowl of wet food. Kiko let go of the card, running back to her bowl and eating up. Yukata grumbled as he wiped dog saliva off his card. “Heh, here’s a bit of a trick Yukata. Kiko only fought with you because she thought you were playing with her. Instead of pulling on the card, try letting it go. She’ll get bored with it.”

“Hm… I wonder if I can teach her to play…” Yukata said, tilting his head curiously at Kiko as she ate.

“You’d have a better chance of teaching her than Kenji! The poor boy can barely dress himself! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAH~” Monokuma announced as he appeared in front of the table.

“Ack! Will you get out of here?!?” Kenj shouted, all eyes turned to Monokuma and indirectly to Kenji.

“Aww, Kenji! I’m hurt! I thought you’d be happy to see me! After all, I’m here with an EXTRA SPECIAL SUPER ANNOUNCEMENT!” Monokuma declared with a raised fist. Everyone’s ears perked up, speculation running rampant, Emi speaking up amongst the chatter.

“You’re letting us go?” she asked.

“Ha! Nope! The Extra Special Super Announcement is… Breakfast is served!” Monokuma said, everyone’s faces faulting at such a simple announcement being given a grandiose treatment. “Come to you straight from the MonoKi-” he began.

“Don’t say MonoKitchen!” Kenji barked out, eye twitching slightly, Yukata scooting himself away from him.

“Aww, but it’s being brought here by MonoKatering!” Monokuma moaned, Kenji punching both fists into the table as the entire table groaned from pun infection.

“All of my hate! Just… All of it.” he said, scrunching his face in annoyance. Soon, a small cadre of slightly smaller Monokumas in little chef hats rolled out platters, setting them down on each table. Under the lids were stacks of waffles, on the sides were pads of butter, a bottle of maple syrup, peanut butter, and two kinds of jam to match their preference. Along with a big pitcher of orange juice to wash it down. “Bon appetit~” Monokuma said before disappearing.

Everyone grabbed themselves some waffles, Reiko and Miho each grabbing another when one had more. Haru busied himself keeping Kiko from drowning herself in syrup, Yukiji crumbling pieces of KitKat onto his waffles. Kenji grumbled as he ate his breakfast. “Mrhm.. MonoKatering…”

“Man, Monoluma’s really getting to you, huh Kenji?” Rio observed.

“He just keeps popping up and pushing my buttons and pissing me off! Has he done that to any of you guys?” Kenji asked, exasperated.

“Hm.. I think my train deck went missing a while ago, but I don’t know if that was him or not…” Yukata said.

“He comes and goes, but Kiko usually barks when he’s nearby. She can usually detect anyone.” Haru said proudly, Kiko letting out a happy bark.   
  


“Maybe Monokuma picks on you because you’re easily worked up. If you just ...didn’t react he probably wouldn’t care as much.” Rio mused, Kenji furrowing his brow in thought that maybe that was why it’s been happening. “Really, I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s running this whole University, he’ll probably be too busy to harass you after a few days. Plus, he has some good OJ!”

“Having good OJ isn’t indicative of one’s character, Rio. His OJ might be good, but he’s definitely up to something evil. ” Yukata replied, pointing a waffle covered fork at Rio. Breakfast soon came to an end, the students sighing in relief as the tiny Chef Monokumas rolled in to gather the dishes. Kenji got up, stretching a bit.

“Well, that was… exciting, but I’m thinking Kiko needs a walk. C’mon, Kiko! One Two!” Haru said, Kiko letting out two barks in succession before jumping off the table and onto Haru’s empty seat, then to the floor.

“Uh, hey. Mind if I come with, Haru? I could use the workout.” Kenji said, Haru laughing.

“Sure thing, Kenji! Let’s go!” Haru said, walking out of the kitchen. Kenji followed, looking over at the assembled students. A few things stuck out to him as he left; Dahlia’s waffles had been untouched as they were taken away and it looked that only the strawberry jam had been touched, leaving an almost-empty pitcher for the… MonoKatering to take away as she licked jam from her fingers. Net to that was the absence of Airi and Shiro.

“Huh, did Airi and Shiro leave before us?” he asked.

“I don’t think they ever showed up. Kiko usually makes a noise when she sees people she likes and she didn't growl, so Shiro wasn’t there.” Haru said.

“She growls at Shiro?” Kenji said, barely hiding his smile as Haru nodded.

“Yeah. She’s not much of a growler so it isn’t all that threatening, but if she doesn’t like someone, she lets them know.” he said with a chuckle. Kiko sniffed at the air as she walked, soon stopping at the MonoMono Machine and sitting down.

“Heh, looks like she wants something. You wanna give it a go, Kenji?” Haru asked, pulling MonoCoins out of his own pouch. Kenji thought it over as Haru put in six Monocoins, getting a strip of beef jerky out of it. “Oh nice!” Haru said, biting off a piece for himself before giving the rest to Kiko. Kenji shrugged, taking out five MonoCoins and putting them into the machine. He spun the dial and out popped his plastic container, Kenji popping it open. To his surprise, he got a small hair clip with a kitty on it.

“Huh. think Emi will like it?” Kenj asked, getting a shrug from Haru.

“Couldn’t hurt…” Haru said. “Hey, if it works, maybe put a couple more coins in it later. I know I will.”

“I guess…” Kenji said as he started to walk again. “So, Haru, what’s it like being a dog trainer? What are some of the tricks?” he asked.

“Part of it is treating your dogs with respect. Dogs tend to take a lot after their owners. If you abuse them or are harsh in discipling them, they’ll be vicious. If you give them nothing but treats, you’ll spoil them and they just turn into little douchebags. Dog’s that respect you as an owner and friend will obey you a lot more easily. You ever have a dog, Kenji?” Haru asked, Kenji looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his chin.

“I… I don’t remember. I think I might’ve had a fish. Not really the same, is it?” Kenji said, eliciting a chuckle from Haru.

“Heh! Nah, can’t say it is! But hey, when we make it out of here, you can come around the Yamada family kennel and have yourself a look.” He said, giving Kenji a light pat on the back of his shoulder.   
  
“Your family had a kennel?” Kenji inquired further.

“Mhm. Grew up around dogs my whole life. Kiko was one of the first I bred, though. I guess that makes her special to me.”

“So that’s why you brought her with you.” Kenji said, Haru looking down at the floor.

“Well, no… she was just kind of in the locker with me. She started barking like crazy in the dark and woke me up.” he admitted, Kenji nodding. Was everyone shoved into a locker before they got here? He knew Yukata had mentioned being locked with Airi in another room, but how did they get someone like Haru in there?

“You got trapped too? Who was in your classroom, Haru?” Kenji asked, needing to know more.

“Uh.. I think it was that short girl, Hana. It’s crazy she turned out to be a nearly professional level basketball player.” Haru said, Kenji laughing.

“Yeah, but she’s probably not the craziest person we met here.” Kenji replied, shuddering as he remembered Dahlia’s fascination with his bloody wound.

“True... anyway, it looks like Kiko is tiring down a bit.” Haru said, offering a hand for the pup to climb into.

“Sure, I’ll catch up with you later.” Kenji said as he headed upstairs for his dorm. On his way there, he saw Yukata putting in the key to his room. “Hey! Yukata! What’s up?” he said as he walked over to Yukata, startling him and causing him to nearly drop his cards. He swiftly caught him in one hand, with a flourish as well. 

“Oh! It’s just you, Kenji. Feeling better? You seemed kind of tense at breakfast.” Yukata said.

“Yeah, I’m feeling great. I think that walk was just what I needed. Hey, you got a spare deck? I always wanted to learn how to play.” Kenji said, Yukata thinking it over.

“I dunno… a lot of my decks are built with the previous meta in mind. I know that there’s a lot of longtime players that like the new meta, but I think the old one was perfectly fine. Besides, Yu-gi-oh is a tricky game to pick up, it might take some time.” he warned.

“Try me.” Kenji dared, Yukata shrugging and leading Kenji into his room.   
  
Kenji spent a few games against a severely handicapped Yukata to help him learn how to play, before Yukata finally decided to play like normal. Kenji lost every single game. Strangely, the losses didn’t bother him too much. He actually had fun, even if half the time it felt like Yukata was speaking in moon language at him with all the game terms he was throwing around.

“Okay, I think that’s game. I think you’re getting better, Kenji. You actually exposed a flaw in my Mirror Force deck. I’ll have to fix that later.” Yukata said, shuffling his cards.

“Thanks, Yukata. You’re really good at this game, huh?” Kenji said.

“I’m good at a lot of card games. You don’t get to be the Ultimate Card Game Player if you’re only good at one game. Yu-gi-oh was the first one I learned, was all. So it’s obviously my favorite.” he explained with a shrug..

“Well, that’s cool. Ha, maybe I should’ve asked you to teach me how to play poker. Probably would’ve been easier to figure out.” Kenji joked, getting a laugh from Yukata..

“Heh heh. Maybe, but you seem kind of like a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. Not the best trait if you want to keep a good poker face.” Yukata said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah?” Kenji said, not sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Yeah, but it makes it easier for you to make friends. People like that kind of earnestness, ya know?” Yukata said. “Anyway, I’ve got some deck fixing to do. You can stick around, but I’m probably not gonna talk all that much. Have to contemplate my strategies and all.” he said, Kenji getting up.

“Sounds… fun, but I think I’ll pass. I’ll catch up with you later.” he said, heading out of Yukata’s room. He checked the time on his Monopad. He had no idea he had spent over five hours just learning card strategies and playing. Maybe that how time flying thing was true, but not he had to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. He looked at the kitty clip and shrugged, heading for Emi’s dorm.

He knocked on the door, getting no response. He tried the doorbell, nothing fo that. “Hm, maybe she’s in the workshop…” Kenji pondered, heading up for the third floor. He entered the workshop to see Emi sat at a workbench pulling nails out of Reiko’s bat with a claw hammer.

“Hey, Emi… is… is that Reiko’s baseball bat?!? D-does she know you have that?!?” Kenji said, shaken by the sight of the bat.

“Oh, hi Kenji! Of course she knows, she gave it to me! The nails were getting rusty and bent. I thought she could use fresh nails.” Emi said, pulling out another nail. “I’m replacing them with coated steel nails. They don’t rust and they clean off with a simple rinse of water. It’s way safer.” she explained.

“Wouldn’t it be better to… not let her have a weapon?” Kenji asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

“I don’t think getting rid of the bat is gonna keep Reiko from threatening anyone. I think it’s more for her… image?” Emi said, thinking aloud. “Aesthetics, ya know? Now, the trick here is that the nails are gonna be a bit loose. But I put a epoxy resin inside the wood to restore some of its structure, so the nails won’t move even with the bigger holes. Should make them nice and sturdy!” she said with a chipper tone.

“Wow, you’re really good at this.” Kenji said, impressed even if he still wasn’t sure about the project.

“It’s like I said; you need it? I build it. Say, you mind holding the bat down while I hammer in the new nails?” she asked, Kenji reaching for the bat, grabbing close to the barrel. “Hrm, no.. put them just a bit lower.” she said, putting her hands atop of his and sliding them along the bat.

“Ack! E-Emi!” Kenji sputtered out, Emi chuckling.

“Don’t worry, I’ve sanded the bat so there aren’t any splinters. Alright! There we go! Grip it real tight!” she said, stopping at the grip and taking her hands off his, grabbing her hammer. They spent the next half hour renailing the bat, Kenji turning the bat over to another side so she could keep hammering in more nails. They soon finished the bat, Emi admiring her handwork.

“Alright! It’s perfect! Reiko’s gonna love it! Thanks, Kenji! I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you for helping!” Emi said, ecstatic as her eyes pored over the bat.

“No problem. Maybe that’ll get her to stop hating me.” Kenji said.

“Reiko doesn’t actually hate you. Sure, she thinks you’re still a bit of of a wuss, but she said you’re tough when it counts. So… I guess she respects you?” Emi said, Kenji looking a little surprised.   
  
“R-really? She respects me?” Kenji replied, leaning forward with his elbows on the table they were sitting next to.   
  
“...Just because you can be surprisingly tough doesn’t mean you should be fronting a biker gang, obviously. Just… being able to stand up for yourself is something I’m jealous of sometimes.” Emi said sullenly.

“Well, I don’t really stand up for myself. I stand up for others.” Kenji said.

“Yeah, but that still, if I was more assertive, I wouldn’t need you to keep coming to my rescue. It’s… a bit embarrassing.” she replied, looking at the workbench and away from Kenji. Kenji struggled to think of what to say to that, thinking until he remembered the kitty clip.

“Uh, hey, Emi?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“I got something out of the MonoMono Machine. I’m not one for hair accessories, but I was thinking you might like it…” he said, feeling awkward as he handed her the clip.

“Oh! Thanks, Kenji!” she said taking the kitty clip and putting it on one of her bangs.

“No problem. So, how’s the secret passage been going?” Kenji asked, Emi looking like she had something to say, but then something unexpected happened.   
  
_ Ding Dong, Bing Bong. _ _   
_ __   
Monokuma appeared on the screen in the corner of the room to make an announcement.   
  
“Attention students. Please meet me in the gym for a very special announcement. Now.” He said, a bit more...stern than his typical demeanor, before the video feed turned off.   
  
“You don’t think he found out that we know, do you?” Kenji asked, Emi shaking her head.

“No, if he did, he would’ve confronted us directly.” Emi said. That made sense to Kenji. Monokuma was more than happy to speak his mind if you got him riled up. The two left the workshop, Emi carrying the fixed-up bat as they made their way down to the first floor.


	5. Chapter 1, Daily Life 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenji and friends meet in the dining hall for a special announcement from Monokuma. He wants to spice things up!

Chapter 1: Intentions of Hope (Daily Life 3)   
  
Akira was reading a book while in the library when the bell sounded for another one of Monokuma’s announcements.   
  
“Attention students. Please meet me in the gym for a very special announcement. Now.” He spoke before the feed turning off. Some of the playfulness in his voice seemed to be gone, which made Akira feel a pang of concern. She folded the book up, setting it on the table before getting up and heading to the door… Only getting halfway there before turning around, grabbing the book she placed on the table and putting it back on the shelf where it belonged.    
  
“There… All better.” Akira said with a smile as she rushed back to the door, the clicking of her dress shoes echoing in the vast library room as she pushed the double doors open, where she saw Shiro and Yukiji, standing across the hall from each other.   
  
“What do you think he wants?” Yukiji asked Akira, Shiro made a brisk pace past them, heading down the stairs. Akira looked down the stairs, seeing Kenji and Emi pass by the two of them as they rushed down the stairs, Emi carrying a nailed bat. She reached for for her side, briefly forgetting that she didn’t have a taser, but her police instinct had kicked in and it looked like Emi was chasing Kenji down. She quickly pushed out the idea. Emi wouldn’t kill anyone, especially not Kenji.   
  
“No clue. It seemed... Different somehow.” Akira replied, looking back at Yukiji, who had his hands clasped together, though the fact his sleeves were too long just meant they were dangling in front of his chest.    
  
“He’s not gonna make us kill each other, Yukiji. We’re better than that.” She said reassuringly, giving Yukiji a soft smile on his face as she calmly and orderly went down the staircase, getting to the ground floor and making her way to the Gym. Since nobody passed her, she assumed she must have been the last one in, sitting in the back of the room behind everyone as she got a good look at the gym.   
  
It was a gym built mostly for basketball, paintings of the play area of basketball were on the waxed wooden floor, with a folded up hoop on each side. There was a small basketball rack sitting on one side, but had no basketballs on it. Banners of cheering Monokumas loomed over the bleachers.   
  
There was a raised platform with a curtain in front of it, along with a small podium with a stepping stool on it. Monokuma popped up from the floor, landing gracefully on the podium as he waited for the students to file in.   
  
“If this were a race, Akira lost by the way.” Monokuma joked, seeing the doors shut behind Akira and Yukiji as she walked closer to get a better look at him. Akira furrowed her brow a bit, adjusting her hat to mask her annoyance, before Shiro spoke up.   
  
“So, why hastially make an announcement like this? Did something come up?” he said, demanding an explanation. Monokuma sighed softly, putting his hands on his hips and tapping a foot.    
  
“Don’t act like you deserve any explanation, Mr. Kiruma. I’ll explain things as I please.” Monokuma shot back, before addressing the rest of his audience. “Typically in these kinds of killing games… I usually give you some kind of  **incentive. ** A mystery, something you need to do for me to make this killing game more interesting.” Monokuma spoke, making sure to lean into the microphone despite the fact they could most likely hear him without it.    
  
“And I know it’s been about 2 days since we’ve started. But… I feel like you’re still getting a little too comfortable for my liking.” He added, Akira tucking her arms into her pockets as she waited to hear what he was going to do next.    
  
“Trust me. I’ll get to everything you’ll want to hear about the little situation you happen to be in, but until then… Allow me to give you that little nudge to get all of you rolling down the hill. A  **killing motive.** ” Monokuma stated, his red eye glowing slightly brighter than before.    
  
“Let’s call this the speed round! I’ll introduce a buncha mechanics specifically to get the first murder on my little Rube Goldberg killing game machine rolling.” He said, hopping off the pedestal, but taking the microphone with him.    
  
“A murder will happen within 2 days from now. I guarantee it. Because I am now implementing a strict  **48 hour time limit.** For the next murder to happen, but that would still be kind of boring, so let’s kick things up a notch. Boom, Whatever.” He said, shaking his hands as the students gossiped from confusion.    
  
“For exactly two hours after 11 PM. All the dorm room doors will unlock, leaving every student vulnerable for attacks in that short period of time. This will start tonight, this won’t be a problem for Kenji of course, he doesn’t lock his own door.” Monokuma said, giving Kenji a wink.   
  
“Hey!” Kenji complained from the crowd.    
  
“And for those of you with… A bit more of a paranoid personality type. I will now be gifting ONE student a special prize.” He said, reaching behind his back to reveal… a pink colored Monopad. “Who wants it? Raise your hand, say the magic words. C’mon, you can do it!” He said with a big smile on his teddy bear face.    
  
“I’ll take it.” Shiro announced loudly, his voice sharply standing out from the other students. Kuma tossed it to him, and he caught it gracefully.    
  
“This is a special Monopad that tells you  **which room has opened their doors in the two hour period all dorm rooms have been unlocked. ** You can choose to hide this… Or share it during the class trial! I don’t really care anymore.” Monokuma joked, Shiro looking at it behind his glasses with a tight lipped frown.    
  
“What happens when you run out of time, is the last little nugget in this 10 piece dippin’ spectacular of a motive. If you run out of time...  **Six students will be killed at random.** ” He said, a gasp of shock coming from the crowd, Akira felt something go up her spine, making her clench her teeth in anger.   
  
“So… It’s your call. One? Or six. The time limit will run out at exactly 8 PM, two days from now.” He spoke, before placing his microphone back onto the stand, waving all the students goodbye. “See ya at the trial, losers~” He announced, before disappearing.   
  
“T...The fuck!?” Reiko shouted in response to his, emotions in the room nearly turning to a riot just from one announcement.    
  
“Somebody needs to save us!” One voice shouted from the crowd.   
  
“THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE!” Another shouted over the uproar of the 16 students.    
  
“I want my mommy…” One last voice called, until Akira bit her lower lip, pulling a whistle from her belt and blowing it at full volume.   
  
“CALM DOWN! EVERYONE!” Akira demanded, some of the people stopping from shoving each other to look at her. “H-he might be bluffing… Remember that one regulation in the Monopad? He can’t be directly responsible for the murders. Right? There’s no way he’d do that!” She plead with the group, Shiro tucking the tablet into the fold of his coat as he glared across the room at the police girl.   
  
“And yet he also has a regulation saying he can add rules as he pleases. Observe.” He said, pulling the alternate Monopad out and opening it for people to see.    
  
Case #1 rule only: Doors will unlock at 11PM for one hour. This will continue for 2 days until the time runs out, then if there isn’t a murder, 6 students will be punished at random.    
  
“Regardless of if it’s a bluff or not. We need to do something, or Monokuma will be bored, and punish all of us.” Kenji replied, Shiro tucking the Monopad under an arm and watching as the discourse continued.    
  
“If that’s the case, I need to prepare. I’m not going to be punished for your inability to act” Shiro said coldly, shoving his way through the small crowd of people and to the door with the intent of returning to his dorm.    
  
Akira ran in front of the door, blocking off his exit. “How could you say something like that! We’re all supposed to be friends. Just because the pressure’s on doesn’t mean we have to tear each other apart for someone else’s amusement. We need to keep calm, and think abou-” She was cut off when Shiro kneed her in the stomach, causing her to double forward and land on the ground face first.   
  
“Move it, peasant! Unlike you, people are waiting for me to return.” He said, opening the door and slamming it behind him, leaving the room in silence.    
  
“Akira!” Yukiji shouted, running over to her, getting on one knee and propping her up against him so she could catch her breath.

“D-damn it. I’m sorry.” Akira said, panting gently from the pain in her ribcage. “I-I thought he would listen to me. I just wanted to keep everyone calm.” She muttered, standing herself back up with the assistance of Yukiji.    
  
“That son of a bitch.” Reiko said, marching to the door, taking the bat out of Emi’s hands and slinging it on her shoulder as she stood in front of Akira. “I’ll make him eat every goddamn nail on this bat after I get done clawing his FUCKING EYES OUT!” She snarled, waiting for Akira to move from the door. But… Akira blocked the door again.    
  
“Just because we have someone who isn’t cooperating doesn’t mean we need to go and kill him too… Please. I implore you to just… Believe in me, alright? I don’t think Monokuma is going to hurt us like this.” She said, determination in her eyes.   
  
“Move it, Akira. Shiro is the source of all of our troubles, if I obliterate his ass, then we won’t have this much arguing.” Reiko demanded, but Akira just pushed her back to the door, softly shaking her head.

“I’m not allowing violence, Reiko… As long as I’m here justice needs to survive. You’ll have to kill me first.” she continued, despite the imposing woman in front of her.    
  
“I don’t even have to kill him. I’ll rip his fucking legs off and keep him tied up in a closet. He’ll shut the fuck up while we get out of here.” Reiko suggested, but Akira remain stone faced. Reiko’s snarl faded as she looked at the floor. “Look… Don’t be an idiot. If the unlocking doors happen tonight, You might be preyed upon by Shitface McGlasses over there, any of us could… And if we kill him in self defense, one of us would be the Blackened and nobody would fucking win.” Reiko continued to try justifying how she feel, but Emi slowly walked between the two of them.   
  
“I think… whoever controlling Monokuma might be  **somewhere in this college** , trying to influence our behavior.” Emi said, trying to de-escalate things further. “Maybe… if we stop them before the time limit, we can save everyone.” She said, turning to face Akira, who slowly walked away from the door.   
  
“Look… Here’s what we do.” Akira started, adjusting the brim of her hat lower to make herself look more imposing. “We have to communicate as much as we can, before we consider any actions. No one leave rooms without informing someone where they’re going.” She said sternly, the other students slowly heading up to her to watch her speak.   
  
“If we really are working together, we have to communicate. Anyone who isn’t communicating is working against us, understood? We’ll head to bed later tonight, and tomorrow I’ll try to talk Shiro into giving me his Monopad so I can monitor night time actions. Until then, there is a curfew in place…  **DO NOT leave your rooms after 10 PM** . Remain in there until morning comes. Understood?” Akira demanded, quiet agreeing coming from some of the people in the crowd.   
  
“Let’s… Go to bed.” Akira said, holding her sore rib as she opened the door, turning away from them and sluggishly lurching back up the stairs so she could go to her bedroom. Akira made it back to her dorm room and locked the door, leaning against the wall and feeling a sharp pain in her stomach that made her double over and begin coughing, blood coming from her mouth and spilling onto her lips and into her hands. “Shoot… he hit harder than I thought.” Akira said, as she slowly walked back over to her bed, sitting on it.   
  
She looked around the room, she still didn’t like how pink the walls in her room was, it was gaudy and unpleasing on her eyes unless the lights were out, meaning her room was rather dark at the moment. There was nothing on the floor, so she didn’t have to worry about tripping on anything.   
  
After that, she lost track of time.    
  
_ Ding Dong, Bing Bong. _ __   
__   
“Ahem. Attention students, it is now 10 PM. Making it officially night time! Certain rooms in the building will now remain closed until morning comes.   
  
And remember… The doors will unlock from 11PM to 1PM!. Sweet dreams, everyone!” Monokuma announced that it was night time, before the screen turned off and left the wounded Akira in the dark.    
  
She wanted to forget that today happened, so she quietly unbuttoned her jacket, pulling it over her head and setting it to the side, along with taking off her pants and shoes to leave her in just a pair of modest panties and a tanktop. She hung her hat on the edge of the bed, crawled into the covers and curled up into a fetal position in hopes that she can just sleep and pretend like it didn’t happen.    
  
She couldn’t sleep. She laid there in pain with her eyes shot open because soon she would head a single sound that she didn’t think would scare her.   
  
_ Click. _ __   
__   
Her door just unlocked, meaning it was now 11 PM. She got out of bed, slowly walking over to the door and taking a deep breath, reaching down and trying to push the lock back in… But it was loose, it wouldn’t lock no matter how hard she pushed the lock to activate it. It was just a door.    
  
She gave up, softly walking back to her bed and sitting on it, watching her door intently. She heard EVERYTHING. Footsteps, the sound of the vents creaking as warm air travelled through them, she even felt the stale-ness of the air creep up the back of her neck. She began to sweat, softly clenching her fists hard enough she could feel her nails beginning to dig into her skin.   
  
_ BANG. _ __   
__   
_ BANG BANG. _ __   
__   
Akira shrieked in fear, leaping off her bed and falling on her face. She padded around the room, trying to find something she could hold in self defence. The sound came from her door, she didn’t know why anything was happening.   
  
She couldn’t find a weapon, so she just slowly walked to the side of the door, standing at the side to see if someone will open it and walk in to try and kill her.   
  
_ Bang Bang. _ __   
__   
The door was hit again, though this time subtly softer than before. Akira took a deep, pained breath from the feeling of her sore ribs pushing against her lungs, pulling the door handle and leaping in the doorway, both hands in a Karate chop position.   
  
“HI-YAH!” She shouted, posing in front of who was on the other side of the door. It was Miho, the wrestler girl she met a day before. She was wearing a long grey nightgown over her more curvy frame, in one hand was a roll of bandages, in the other a small pair of surgical scissors.   
  
“Uhh… Hi.” Miho said with a confused look on her face. Akira dropped her defense, looking a bit confused by why she was there.    
  
“Didn’t I say that we weren’t allowed outside after 10PM?” Akira asked. Miho sighed, gently walking into the room and turning the light on to make things easier to see.   
  
“I tried to sleep, but I guess I got worried.” She said, setting her bandage and scissors on the nightstand next to Akira’s unmade bed. “Shiro hit you really hard. I wasn’t sure you were okay… I wanted to check up on you and see if I could help.” She said, sitting on her bed. Akira looked confused, slightly walking forward.    
  
“I-i’ll be okay. We could have treated this in the morning, y’know.” Akira said, looking at the wall before looking back at the girl lounging on her bed.    
  
“There was one time I was wrestling, defending my championship against another wrestler. I went for a moonsault, and she lifted both her knees up to block it. But we mistimed the move, and broke four of my ribs.” Miho said, gently unwinding the bandage and slowly wrapping it around one of her arms as Akira watched confused.    
  
“I tried to be tough about it. I kept telling the referee I was okay… I didn’t want to end the match and get some help. But I ended up piercing my lungs with my fractured ribs. Once I got up, I was throwing up blood and it scared the audience.” She continued, reaching up to slide a hand under Akira’s chin, lifting her head slightly.    
  
“You have flecks of blood on your lips. So I can tell you must be reeling, please stop trying to play tough.” She said, heading to the sink, soaking a bandage in some water and coming back to clean her face a little bit while she talked.   
  
“When I coughed up blood, the sponsors called my promoter angrily, like I planned to break my ribs… And I got suspended from the company for 6 months to appease them, since I tried to wrestle through the match injured instead seek medical help.” She said, gently walking behind Akira now, sliding her tank top up from her waist, to just underneath her bra.    
  
“H-hey! What are you doing Miho!?” Akira asked confused, but Miho gently began to push her fingers gently against each set of her ribs. “Palpating, dummy. I have to see if you broke any of your ribs.” She replied, Akira feeling awkward from feeling Miho’s body rubbing the back of her head and shoulders.    
  
Eventually, Miho got to near the bottom of Akira’s ribs, and noticed her wince when she pushed on one of the ribs. “You broke a rib. It isn’t puncturing anything, but we can’t just leave it like that.” She said, pushing Akira’s shoulder to sit her down on the bed as she then stood up, sitting on her knees in front of the police girl as she softly began to wrap her ribs in bandage.   
  
“You know how to do this?” Akira asked, slowly feeling the tape on her ribs tightening with every rotation. Miho looked up with a little smile.    
  
“When you’re on the road, you don’t always have a doctor. I learned the miracles of wrapping up things if they hurt so they can heal a bit before I hurt myself again.” Miho eventually finished wrapping up her chest and stomach, slicing the tape with the scissors before tucking it into the bandage wrap so it won’t slip off.    
  
“How do you feel?” Miho asked, sliding her shirt back down to hide the bandages on her ribs, standing back up straight with her hands on her hips. 

“Uhm.. They feel a little better.” Akira said, blushing slightly. “Thank you, Miho.” She said, her voice rather sheepish sounding from the… unexpected moment of personal talk from Miho.    
  
She gently reached up, placing her hand on Akira’s head and ruffled her hair a few times. “No problem! If you ever need my help again, just let me know.” She said, gently turning away and walking to the door, opening it and turning back to look at Akira sitting on her bed alone now.   
  
“If you need to feel safe Akira… Come to my dorm, alright? I’m not going to kill anyone, I promise.” she said, pointing to herself with a thumb and giving her a wink, before closing the door behind her and exiting the room, closing the door.    
  
Akira gently turned the light back off, climbing back into the covers and falling asleep, feeling a little more at ease than before thanks to Miho.


	6. Chapter 1, Daily Life 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an intense outburst from Kenji, things have become tense as Akira looks for ways to blow off steam.

Chapter 1: Intentions of Hope (Daily Life 4)

Ding Dong Bing Bong

“Gooooooood morning, Students! It is now 7 AM, time to start another beautiful day in this university.” came Monokuma’s announcement, waking Akira up from her sleep. She got up slowly, not wanting to upset the bandages Miho gave her as she got herself dressed. She looked over her clothes as she put them on, decided to turn her hat backwards briefly before looking at it in the mirror and sighing.

“No, that’s wrong. It needs to face forward.” she said, turning it back in place and heading out of her room. She stopped at Yukji’s dorm, gently knocking on the door. “Yukiji? It’s Akira. You up?” she asked, hearing movement from inside the room. The door opened, Yukiji stepping out in his usual garb, though one with a Monokuma shirt, softly rubbing the sleep from his eyes, with a piece of candy sticking out of his mouth. “Hey, Yukiji… why the Monokuma shirt?” Akira asked.

“I found it in my closet.” Yukiji said, letting out a yawn. “It fit.” he said bluntly.

“You okay, Yukiji? You look tired… more tired than usual.” Akira said, concerned.

‘I couldn’t sleep well last night. I kept hearing noises…” Yukiji said.

“Oh, sorry. Miho was trying to come by and fix up my ribs.” Akira explained, seeing Yukiji shake his head.

“No, the noises I heard were more quiet… like breathing.” Yukiji said.

“Breathing?” Akira asked, alarmed.

“Y-yeah, I didn’t see anyone, so maybe it was the wind…” Yukiji admitted, however Akira was not happy to hear someone had been in Yukiji’s room. They were probably there to kill him. But why hesitate? She started thinking that maybe Miho’s banging had startled them into inactivity, but that meant they’d probably try for tonight. She needed to know who was there last night. So, in spite of her disdain for him, she lead them to Shiro’s room.

“Shiro! It’s Akira! Open up!” she shouted, pounding on Shiro’s door. Shiro swung the door open, glaring at them.

“What do you think you are doing, Kazue? I was reading before breakfast. You better have a good reason for interrupting my mental stimulation.” he said.

“We need the special Monopad. I need to review the door log for last night. You can have it back when I’m finished.” Akira said.

“No.” Shiro answered without a second’s thought.

“But someone was in Yukiji’s room! They could have killed him!” Akira countered.

“And I’m expected to care about Chimon’s well being because…” Shiro said, letting the question linger.

“Shiro, you’re being selfish! That kind of information should be available to all of us! We’re all at risk here!” she argued, Shiro simply looking at her with visible disgust.

“If you need to cheat to avoid death, then it is not my fault that fate lead any of you to an early end.” he said, shutting the door in their faces.

“He’s not very helpful, is he?” Yukiji asked, Akira sighing and walking off.

“Forget him, you can stay in my room tonight if you feel nervous about sleeping in yours.” she offered.

“A-ah… sleep with you?” Yukiji mumbled, hiding his face with his hands. Akira blinked, now imagining her, Miho and Yukiji sandwiched awkwardly in her single bed.

“I need to stop inviting people into my room…” she said under her breath. “I mean, we could also switch rooms if it makes you feel more comfortable.” Akira suggested.

“Uh… I like my room… it has my clothes in it, and my KitKat collection.” Yukiji said.

“Yeah, but you’re not safe in your room. You can bring a change of clothes and some KitKats if you need.” Akira said, stopping at the MonoMono Machine and putting in five MonoCoins. The machine popped out a jelly doughnut, Akira grimacing slightly. “I think he’s rigging this to be funny…” she mumbled, trying one more time and getting a bikini, which was met with a deep sigh. She walked off, eating the doughnut as they headed for the dining hall.

They sat down at a table, joined by Akami. “Good morning, Akira. Yukiji. How did you sleep last night?” he asked as he sat down.

“Not well. Yukiji heard breathing and my ribs were bothering me.” Akira said, which Akami met with a pout.

“So… you didn’t sleep well either?” he asked, his head tilting slightly with concerned eyes.

“Did something happen to you too, Akami?” Akira asked, taking a sip from a nearby glass of water.

“Yeah… I forgot to take my foundation off before I went to bed. I left it all over my pillow!” Akami shouted, standing from his seat a bit and looking like a sad kitten. 

“Ah, sorry to hear that, Akami… but nothing else? No weird sounds?” Akira asked.

“No, besides some knocking, everything was pretty quiet.” he answered. The would be Miho coming by her room last night, so Akira was relieved to know no one else was banging around, but that still gave her pause as to who was in Yukiji’s room. She ruled out Bam, who was chatting it up with Hana at another table. as neither was known for being quiet. Neither were Setsuki or Reiko and if Reiko really wanted to kill someone, it would’ve been her and Shiro.

“Shiro…” she muttered aloud.

“What about him?” Akami asked.

“Huh? Oh! Well, I tried to get the pink Monopad from him to see who was in Yukiji’s room, but he refused.” Akira explained.

“Maybe he was the one who was in Yukiji’s room. That’s why he doesn’t want anyone seeing it.” Akami suggested.

“Maybe… but why go after Yukiji and not me or Kenji?” Akira asked, rubbing her chin.

“Because you guys can defend yourselves. No offense to Yukiji-” Akami began.

“None taken.” Yukiji interjected, biting into another KitKat as he looked off into space.

“But Kenji showed he can knock Shiro around and you’re a cop. He’s not gonna attack people that can fight him off.” Akami continued.

“Well, I’m just a cadet, but I can see where you’re coming from. Still, Shiro’s an asshole, but I don’t think he’d be one to murder. His type don’t get their own hands dirty, ya know?” Akira pointed out, Akami nodding in agreement as the Chef Monokumas rolled out trays of doughnuts for everyone. Akira grumbled and bit into the one she got from the MonoMono Machine.

“So… he has an accomplice? But who would work with him?” Yukiji asked.

“Probably Airi. No one else would tolerate him enough to work for him.” Akami said, Akira nodding. “Anyway, what are you gonna do about Yukiji’s sleep problem? If there was someone watching him last night, he may want to not be in his room tonight.”

“I’ve been trying to get him out of his room, but he’s been hesitant.” Akira said.

“I like my room. It has my toothbrush.” Yukiji commented, picking at a chocolate doughnut.

“Then why not stand guard outside his room? Get up when the doors unlock and stand by his door.” Akami considered.

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Akira said, finishing her doughnut. After breakfast, Akira got up, followed by Yukiji.

“Do you really think standing guard is a good idea?” he asked, Akira nodding.

“Of course. I’ll be able to see who gets out of their rooms and if anyone tries to get through them, I’ll blow my whistle.” she said, pulling out her whistle. She looked at Yukiji, who looked somewhat upset. “What’s the matter, Yukiji? You’ll be safe, trust me…”

“It’s not that, it’s just… I haven’t had anything to play in a while. I’ve been kind of bored.” he said, Akira blinking in surprise.

“You haven’t been playing chess?” she asked.

“Don’t have a board or pieces.” he admitted.

“Hm.. well, there should be a few books on chess. Maybe that will help.” Akira proposed.

“I have an idea…” Yukiji said as they went into the library. Yukiji held Akira at the door, holding the door open as he put a hand on her shoulder. “Go to the class rooms… get chalk.” He said with a smile on his face. She nodded quietly as he closed the door. 

Akira went and got several sticks of chalk, leaving them in front of the door as Yukiji took them and ran inside. About half an hour later, the door opened as Akira was leaning against a wall napping. Yukiji was sweating and trying to catch his breath.

“Pssst… Come in, it’s dooone!” he said with a smile. She went inside and gasped as he seemingly converted the floor to a big makeshift chess board. An 8 by 8 grid, with potted plants on one side of the board, and statues of monokuma on the other.

“It’s chess! Big chess.” Yukiji said with a little chuckle, Akira couldn’t help but smile at his effort. The white spaces where chalked in, the black were the just the wooden floor. 

“I wrote little notes on each piece as to what they represent, since there was only like.. 2 kinds of plants and 2 kinds of Monokumas, but whatever, it works.” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

“Wow, this is impressive, Yukiji!” Akira said.

“Thanks, probably will only be able to do this once before Monokuma puts it all back, but it’ll be good enough for a while.” Yukiji said, taking his spot with the white pieces. Akira took the black pieces.

“Where did you get all these potted plants?” Akira asked.

“They were all in the library. They were all over the place.” Yukiji said. They soon began play, moving Monokuma statues and plants. What would’ve been a fairly short game otherwise for They both required several minutes of dragging heavy pieces around, mixed in with several breaks to get a drink and rest, especially because of Akira’s still injured ribs. 

“And… checkmate…” Yukiji finally gasped out, dropping his potted “knight” onto the floor, breaking the pot and spilling dirt everywhere. “Oh man… I broke it…” he said, huffing in air.

“It’s fine, we’ll clean it up after a bit of rest…” Akira said, lying down on the floor. After a few minutes, the two worked on cleaning up the broken pot, sweeping up the dirt and broken glass with a broom. “There we go. Good game, Yukiji. That was fun!” Akira said.

“Yeah, usually this game’s mentally exhausting…” Yukiji said, wiping sweat with his overlong sleeve, but smiling all the same. They swept up the dirt and glass into a garbage bag, which Akira slung over her shoulder and slowly began to walk her way to the trash chute on the same floor. Yukiji followed her to it, as she opened the door and slid the trash bag into the chute, hearing it falling down.

“I wanna know where that goes…” Yukiji said, putting a finger to his lower lip as he heard the trash fall. 

“I don’t think that’s a great idea…” Akira said, closing her eyes and pointing a finger up. “What if it fell into a furnace? Or what if it falls down and you break your legs.” she continued, before she opened her eyes, seeing his legs hanging from the door of the chute as he tried to climb inside.

“W-waaaaaaaaait!” She shouted, grabbing him by the legs to try and pull him back out of the chute, but the pain in her ribs made her gasp, her falling in right after him. The chute slid down like a slide, getting less steep the deeper it went, until they both landed in a pile of trash bags. 

“Weeeee!” Yukiji cried out as they both landed in a dumpster together. “That… Was… Coooooooool!” Yukiji shouted, hopping out of the bin of trash bags and looking at his surroundings. 

“WHY DID YOU DID THAT?!” Akira shouted, climbing out after him as he looked at the door. Leaning down to fiddle with the lock when suddenly Monokuma showed up.

“Y’know, when I thought to myself that ‘most human beings are garbage’ that was NOT what I had in mind.” He complained, walking up to the door. “Welp, if Yukiji is gonna turn a garbage dump into a Disneyworld ride, I might as well unlock this door for you guys.” He said, snapping his fingers and unlocking the door. 

Akira walked up to the door, softly twisting the knob and opening it to see where she was. She was standing in the closet of the shower room, walking outside of it and looking at the tiled walls and mirrors. 

“So… It leads to the shower room?” she asked, Monokuma just let out a sigh. “This actually isn’t one of the secrets I left out for you guys, it’s just… Who the heck rides down a trash chute?” He said, before quickly disappearing. 

“Can we go again?” Yukiji asked Akira, who was wide eyed with exasperation. 

“Nooooooooooooooooooo.” She said, drawn out and frustrated. “I mean… no. It’s pretty unsanitary.” She said with a frown as two people entered the shower. Setsuki and Emi were both standing in the middle of the shower room draped in towels. 

“Uhhh… This is awkward.” Akira said, looking at the two of them just wearing towels. Yukiji immediately turned pink and hid behind Akira. 

“...Did you guys just slide down a trash chute?” Emi asked, her head twisted in a look of confusion.

“Ow… My reputation hurts.” Akira said, tears dripping from her eyes as she tried to fight a sniffle from coming on. Her clean clothes were covered in dirt and trash and she was worried that her status as being clean and orderly was ruined.

“I-it was a my idea! I thought it’d be cool and it was!” Yukiji piped up from behind Akira.

“Nice! Trash sliding! I wonder if I can fit a luge in there!” Setsuki said.

“Look! No one else is going to ride the trash chute! Why do I have to tell people this!?” Akira cried, exasperated.

“Well, there isn’t really a rule against it. Monokuma would’ve put it in the regulations...” Emi pointed out.

“W-well, it’s in the Akira Kazue Regulations! I will not have any more trash sliders in this school! C’mon, Yukiji!” Akira said, covering Yukiji’s eyes as they walked out of the shower. “Don’t use all the hot water!”

“No promises, KiKi!” Setsuki called, giving a double V sign with her hands.

Akira and Yukiji went their separate ways, Akira going to her room to change and then bring her dirty clothes to the laundry. She put in a Monocoin, turning on the machine and letting her clothes clean up and checked how much time she had left. It was three in the afternoon. She still had some time left and she went to the bathing room, needing to shower out the smell of garbage.

She got herself stripped and in a towel, ready to go when she heard the door slam open, jumping a bit.. “Ahhh! Nothing like a few layups to get the muscles burning!” Hana shouted as she walked into the bathing room. “Oh, hey Akira! You showerin’ too?”

“...Yes. That’s why I’m in the bathing room.” Akira said as Hana grabbed a towel.

“Cool! Showering buddies!” Hana said, not losing any of her enthusiastic energy. Akira sighed and headed into one of the showers. She was relieved that some hot water was still left after Setsuki and Emi’s shower, cleaning away the dirt that had clung to her body. Hana seemed to be amusing herself by letting water fall into her open mouth, gargling loudly and spitting into the drain. “Awww yeh! This is the life!” Hana exclaimed.

“Do you know if they have any shampoo?” Akira asked, when suddenly a voice startled her.

“We have Monokuma brand shampo-” Monokuma began to speak, until a high pitched shriek came from Akira, who decided to go for a running kick on the bear, making it bounce off the ceiling and land on the floor face first. 

“NO MONOKUMAS IN THE SHOWERS! WE’RE NAKED IN HERE YOU GIANT LITTLE PERVERT!” Akira shouted.

“Hey now! Need I remind you that under Regulation #8 of Enoshima University, violence against Dean Monokuma is strictly prohibited! Besides, I was just pointing out the shampoo! You asked!” Monokuma objected.

“I WAS ASKING HANA! NOT YOU! AKIRA KAZUE REGULATION #2, VIOLENCE AGAINST PEEPING IS NOT ONLY ALLOWED, BUT ENCOURAGED!” she shouted back.

“B-but.. I’m not a pervert.” Monokuma said, his voice false quivering with sadness.

“OUT! NOW! THANKS FOR THE SHAMPOO! GO AWAY!” Akira kept shouting, Monokuma soon running off.

“Wow, that was pretty cool, Akira! Didn’t think anyone could boss around Monokuma.” Hana said.

“There’s no place for perverts in this world. I swear this upon my grandmother’s grave.” She said, pumping a fist and puffing her chest out proudly.

“Yeah! Get dunked, Monokuma!” Hana shouted in agreement.

“Why do you always say that? Why does everyone get dunked?” Akira asked.

“Huh? Oh, my coach would say it all the time. He’d say it whenever one of us didn’t have enough mojo. To him, it meant “you’re not at your best, you’re getting beaten to easily, get better or get dunked.” He just shortened it to “Get Dunked” because that was a mouthful to say. I’m actually a little too short to dunk, so I usually won by getting lots of 3 pointers.” Hana explained, grabbing a shampoo bottle and lathering up her hair.

“Huh… didn’t think of it that way… our instructor at the Academy usually just yelled at us. I tried girl’s volleyball for a while. But the coach told me I was too accident prone to be on her team. I was so sad about it that I cried for 3 days.” Akira replied, gently unraveling her ponytail to wash her hair better.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It just meant you didn’t have the Mojo yet to overcome your two left feet.” Hana replied.

“Mojo?” Akira asked.

“Hell yeh! Mojo! Determination! Motivation! Drive! Go juice! Sports are about failing like… 300 million times until you will yourself to do everything perfectly.” Hana said, rinsing out the shampoo. “You keep up your spirits and keep running, keep jumping, keep fighting and you’ll be able to do anything!”

Hana getting excited about her days training for the basketball team made Akira softly smile, as she turned off the water, walking over to the towel booth and wrapping it around herself for modesty as she waited for Hana to finish her own shower. 

“Let’s all have a little mojo for getting out of here, alright? Monokuma’s time limit is just to get a rise out of us. If we just trust each other, we’ll make it out.” Akira said, Hana turning to her and nodding gently as she got a towel as well. 

“This is my first shower here, can you help me re-braid my hair…?” Hana asked, showing that the braids in her hair secured with beads were removed. Akira looked curious, reaching down to softly slide a finger through her bright pink hair. 

“My mom usually helped me braid it, she thought it made me unique. I miss my mom.” Hana said, looking at the floor. Akira just smiled, gently walking her over to where their fresh set of clothing was so they could both get dressed. 

“Sure, why not? We’ll get dressed and get your hair done up back in your dorm room, alright?” Akira offered, Hana nodding gently as the two of them went upstairs to Hana’s room. Akira redid the braids in her hair, despite it taking about an hour since Akira was never good at managing her own hair, but the experience was fun enough that she didn’t mind it.

After getting done with Hana, Akira decided to do a quick dinner, and get some more sleep for the next day.


	7. Chapter 1, Daily Life 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the worse.

Chapter 1: Intentions of Hope (Daily Life 5)   
  
Kenji had been on autopilot since last last night when Monokuma announced there would be a time limit for the killing game to start, since he was getting bored. Knowing that the doors were unlocked didn’t really bother him that much since he was a pretty heavy sleeper, but could be easily woken up by certain noises. But… the fact he was even in this situation was dawning on him.   
  
Why was he here? Did he do anything bad and this is some way of punishing his actions? Was he secretly evil and just acquired amnesia at a convenient time for him to forget? Chaos started to fill his head, people around him fighting and feeling like he’s a fish slowly approaching a lure. The whole concept made him sick, all he wanted to do was go back home, kick back and watch a movie like he always did on the weekends.    
  
“Yo, Kenji.” A voice called out, but Kenji couldn’t hear it. “Kenji!” The voice shouted, breaking Kenji from his stupor. Kenji was sitting in the dining hall at a table, casually knocking around a piece of fish with his fork. He looked across the row from him to see Haru, the mountain of a man looking concerned, along with the carefree gaze of his dog, Kiko. Kenji shook his head, looking at him.   
  
“Yeah, Haru? Sorry, I’m just feeling a little tired.” Kenji said apologetically, Haru pointed down to his plate, making Kenji look down as well.   
  
“You gonna eat your fish, man? It’s starting to get cold.” He asked, Kenji looked at his plate and saw a grilled fish fillet, seasoned with lemon juice, olives, and a side of grilled green onions. He didn’t even eat a single bite of food, he was just sliding it back and forth on his plate, he didn’t even sip any of his glass of sparkling water.   
  
“Oh. Sorry… I just have a lot of my mind right now.” Kenji said, trying to get past the mopey feeling he had. From the corner of the room he saw Emi leaning behind a wall, gesturing and mouthing the word ‘Kenji’ to try and signal him to come talk to her. “Hey, Emi wants to go talk to me. Do you mind if you finish my meal for me?” Kenji said, gently scooting his tray across the table and lifting from his seat.    
  
“No problem, bro. But don’t be skippin’ meals like this! You need protein to keep your motor running. If you don’t eat your meat, you won’t get any pudding!” Haru criticized, but Kenji just sighed and gave a chuckle. 

“I’ll be fine for now. I might get a snack later from a vending machine.” He said, before tucking his hands into his pockets and walking over to Emi, who was still hiding behind the wall near the hallway leading to the main entrance.    
  
“Hey Kenji.” Emi said with a quiet voice, almost trying to whisper to him. Kenji looked confused by this, just tilting his head slightly as he looked back to his seat. Haru was picking the meal apart a bit to give Kiko a good portion of the fish without letting her over eat.    
  
“What’s up, Emi? Why are you so whispery sounding?” Kenji asked, but Emi looked left and right with insecure eyes, before looking at him.

“I wanted to talk to you about something that just happened to me. Do you remember that weird gap in the wall where we thought a door was?” she asked, Kenji thinking for a brief second before recalling.   
  
“That one right next to the workshop, right? What about it?” Kenji asked back, Emi gently taking him by a hand and slowly walking him out into the main hall of the building.    
  
“I saw someone use it.” She revealed, which made Kenji’s eyes widen. “W-wait! Someone used it? Who was it?” Kenji asked, concerned. But Emi just held a finger to her lips, gesturing him to keep his voice down.   
  
“I wasn’t at the best angle to see it, Kenji. I was heading up to the workshop to help make a bookshelf for Shiro, when I saw the back of the door ajar. I couldn’t see who it was, but I saw them walk in and close the door!” Emi announced, but Kenji mirrored her gesture to keep her quiet since she began to raise her voice as well.   
  
“So. What do you think this means, Emi?” Kenji asked as she slowly walked him up the stairs, leading him to the third floor where the entrance they suspected was.    
  
“I think the answer is… One of the people in this school is aware of these, and is able to pass to and from them as they please. They might be behind this whole thing.” Emi said, reaching into her toolkit and grabbing a small putty knife. Gently sliding along the edges of the door and stopping when she hit the right side of it. “Here’s the first hinge.”    
  
She passed over the blockage with her thin putty knife, sliding it lower and gently hitting another piece of metal. “Here’s another hinge. It appears to open outward like I said. The only question is.. Where’s the handle?” She asked, pushing her hand along the other side to see if she can pull it open.    
  
“You sure like trying to get into doors Monokuma asks you not to open, huh…” Kenji complained, but Emi looked back at him with a frustrated look on her face.   
  
“I’m not gonna let that little bastard win. He must be piloted by someone, and I’m thinking possibly that whatever may be behind this door could possibly lead to the pilot of the little bear robot.” Emi shot back, but Kenji just sighed.

  
  


“Starting tomorrow morning Emi, you and I will take food from the kitchen, park ourselves right here out of view and see if anyone uses this door. Does that sound good?” Kenji asked, getting a soft smile from Emi in response.

“Yeah, that’s perfect! Let’s smoke out the baddie together, as a team.” Emi said, giving a cute hop and a quick hug of Kenji’s side as she headed back down stairs. “Thank you for helping me so much, Kenji. You rock.” she said as she left. Kenji smiled softly, but still felt rather tired. However, something hit him as she walked off.

“Wait! Why did you make a bookshelf for Shiro?” he asked.

“He needed it, so I made it! I’m trying to get on his good side!” Emi called from the steps.   
  
Kenji shrugged, doubting Shiro even had a good side. He went back down stairs to the second floor, heading to a vending machine, slipping two Monocoins into the slot and picking two things. A small bag of chips, and a container of milk. He took them into his dorm room, quickly ate them, and decided to go to bed before Monokuma’s night time announcement began. If he was going to do a stakeout with Emi tomorrow, he would need to get enough rest to keep his attention on the prize.    
  
His eyes closed, he slowly fell asleep, luckily before the bell went off and kept him awake any longer. That was, until a sound woke him up.    
  
_ THUMP. _ _   
_ __   
Kenji opened an eye and sat up, feeling a rush to his head from the sudden movement, making him dizzy. The strange thing was… the thump sounded like it came from above him. He slowly climbed out of bed, got up, and walked to the front door of his dorm room, grabbing it and pushing the lock to unlock it. But only then he realized… That meant both Shiro would have a log of him leaving his room that night, and that his door would be unlocked right now.    
  
Kenji hesitated, slowly walking back over to his bed and sitting on the edge of it thinking. “S-should I go?” Kenji asked himself, clutching his bed, he was worried that someone may have laid a trap on him to get him to wander outside of his room. Minutes passed, before he head a knock on his door.   
  
“Yoooo! Kenji! You up? I’m gonna check what that noise was! Can you come with me?” A voice rang out from the other side of his door. From the voices Kenji’s memorized… it could only have been Yukata.    
  
“Yukata!?” Kenji said, running over to the door and quickly opening it to see Yukata standing in front of him, his spiky hair messier than normal looking, and him clad in a pair of pajama pants covered in playing card patterns and a T-shirt.    
  
“Did you hear a bang sound, Kenji?” Yukata asked him, Kenji reluctantly nodding at him.

“The weird part was… I heard it above us.” Kenji said, Yukata looking down and rubbing his chin out of curiosity. 

“Yeah… I heard from Monokuma last night that the rooms are sound proof from each other… But may not be sound proof above, or below the room.” Yukata said, turning to the staircase and steeling himself to climb up them.    
  
“That means… It would have to have came from above, Kenji! Thanks for letting me know.” He said, walking cautiously up the stairs, until he heard a voice yell at him.   
  
“Hey, Yukata!” Emi shouted from the top of the stairs. She was a bit hard to see thanks to the angle of the railing. Kenji followed Yukata halfway up the stairs, to see Emi standing in the hall mopping the floor.    
  
“What are you doing out? It’s after 10. Akira would be very upset with you, y’know!.” Yukata shouted up at her, but Emi just sighed, looking at the ground. “More importantly, are you okay!?” he added, getting a reserved nod from Emi in response. 

“I couldn’t sleep. So I went into the workshop to clean up the place. I was taking sawdust out in a garbage bag after making Shiro’s bookshelf, but I slipped and dropped it. There’s sawdust everywhere up here, so I’m using a mop to wash it off.” She said, Kenji taking another step up the stairs to see indeed she was mopping sawdust on the ground.   
  
“Do you want some help, Emi?” Kenji asked, but Emi shook her head gently. 

“Nah… I’m good, Kenji. If you guys headed up here now, you would just track more sawdust everywhere and make my job harder. Remember, the floor is wet from the mop!” she shot back, looking over the balcony as Kenji seemed lost in thought.   
  
“I’m sorry if I scared you guys with me tripping like that since everyone’s on edge right now. But I promise I’ll clean this up really quick and go back to bed.” Emi said with an awkward smile. Yukata just turned around and walked down the stairs.    
  
“Welp, mystery solved. I’m gonna catch more Z’s.” Yukata said, casually waving goodbye as he went back to his room.    
  
“Goodnight, Emi.” Kenji said, turning away from her as she continued to mop sawdust off the floor. “Remember to stay safe, it’s dangerous to be out here at night like this.” he said, walking back down the stairs and back to his bedroom.    
  
“Goodnight, Kenji!” Emi shouted back at him, continuing what she was doing.    
  
Kenji went to bed, his heart was racing after that scare, he thought something was wrong but… He guessed everything was fine. So he just counted backwards from 100, which calmed his system and he slowly began to fall asleep.    
  
His sleep was surprisingly calm and pleasant, but a particular bell woke him up at a time his body’s biological clock woke him up with an unexpected announcement.    
  
_ Ping Pong, Pong Ping _ _   
_ __   
“A body has been discovered!” Monokuma announced in a chipper tone, but Kenji didn’t hear that right, he rolled up from bed and groaned, on the monitor, Monokuma was holding a glass of wine in his cartoonish bear paws. “After a few hours, A Class Trial will be held, and all surviving students must meet me at the entrance of the school!” He said, before turning closer to the camera, ending on an ominous “Good luck~” before the screen turned to black.   
  
“Did I hear that right…?” Kenji thought to himself, before he heard the door banging viciously. 

“Kenji! Get down here! Please! It’s important!” Hana shouted through the door. Kenji felt a shiver in his spine from remembering last night. He left Emi out there on her own. She could be in danger. He didn't even bother getting an outfit on, running to the door and opening it to see Hana, tears streaming down her face.    
  
K-Kenji!” She said, running up and giving him a hug. Kenji was startled, leaning back a bit and returning the hug.    
  
“Hana? What happened!?” Kenji asked, Hana grabbing him by the wrist and leading him downstairs to the main hall, where most of the other students were standing. Kenji looked up at the clock, seeing it was only 5:23 in the morning.    
  
Kenji looked as Haru ran past him, holding his mouth to refrain from vomiting, brushing Kenji’s shoulder as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and walking into the bathroom, opening his eyes to Setsuki, frozen still with a towel wrapped around her body and a shocked look on her face. He didn’t want to turn his head to match her gaze. He didn’t want to see what she saw.   
  
But he had no choice, he looked.    
  
In the center of the shower room, he was Rio Daisuke resting face first on the ground, the back of his skull absolutely smashed open to the point he could see chunks of his brain and remnants of his skull on the bathroom floor, sitting in a huge puddle of water, the blood seeping into the water and turning it slowly red, he was almost unrecognizable from the damage, but he could tell it was him by his leather jacket and longer, lanky build.    
  
“DAISUKE!” Kenji shouted, running across the pool of water to get closer to the body, but he slipped, landing on his face a few feet in front of where he started. Airi reached over, grabbing him by the collar and stood him back up onto his feet.    
  
“Don’t run, the place is flooded, you moron.” she scolded, but Kenji just looked back at her with a shocked look on his face.    
  
“How can you be calm at a time like this, he needs medical attention!” Kenji shouted, but Shiro spoke from behind him.   
  
“He’s already dead.” Shiro stated, adjusting his glasses before giving a soft sigh in response. “And Monokuma gave us only a few hours to investigate before the trial. We need to cover this place, and possibly investigate the rest of the building so we can come to a conclusion.” He explained, Kenji was just shocked to the point he couldn’t even speak. Thankfully, Akira was there for him.    
  
“We should explore the school, try and see if we can learn more about the murder. One of us should be… involved in investigating the body.” Akira stated, eyes on the floor because she wanted the last image of Rio in her head to be the smiling, helpful Rio. Not… this.

“R-right… I’ll look through the shower room…” Kenji said,trying to steel his nerves a bit. He clenched and unclenched his hands, breathing hard as he looked away from the body.

“Okay…” Akira said. “We’re going to need someone to stand guard so no one attempts to tamper with the crime scene.” she said, Reiko stepping forward.

“I’ll do it. Anyone comes near the body’s getting nails in their head.” she said, gripping her bat tightly and turning to the assembled crowd. “You got that?!?”

Everyone nodded as Reiko took her place. Kenji waded through the water, holding his nose to keep the scent of blood from hitting his nostrils to no avail. It was putrid, smelling like a mix of raw meat, tainted copper and like a tide just rolled in. He wanted to puke, but… investigating this was his job. He had to find out who killed him.


	8. Chapter 1, Deadly Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the first murder begins.

Intentions of Hope: Deadly Life.   
  
Kenji began to investigate the shower room as the other students were barred from the room by Reiko. He first started with the body, getting a closer look at it made him feel even more queasy than before. The blood soaked water was seeping into his shoes, but the musty, steam filled air made it almost impossible to breath except for the air of corpse. The strange thing he noticed was Rio’s outfit. He was still in his clothes, why would he be wearing clothes while in the shower room?    
  
He slowly began to parade around the room, looking to see if there was any indication that there was a murder there, but the strange thing was there… Didn’t seem to be any other objects coated in blood in that bathroom. The first thing though, he heard the water running, with all the steam, the water had to be coming from somewhere.    
  
Eventually, he saw water flowing from two shower heads in the room, turned all the way to hot. Water was slowly pouring over the edge of the showers, causing the pool of water on the floor. Kenji calmly turned both shower heads off, expecting the water to drain, but it didn’t. He looked at the drain, seeing something strange at the bottom.   
  
“Weird…” He muttered, sliding his hand into the water, gripping what was plugging the drain and pulling it out, causing the water to finally begin draining from the shower floor, but leaving water left surrounding Rio’s body. He inspected what was plugging one of the drains, it appeared to be a wet towel, hastily stuffed into the drain to fill it full of water.    
  
But the question was… Why flood the shower room? Did they want Rio to slip? He decided to save the questions, slowly padding around the room until he found a door that he wasn’t familiar with. “Hey! Does anyone back there know about a door leading to somewhere past the shower room?” He shouted back at the group, Akira replying after thinking for a minute.    
  
“That’s a trash room. Be sure to check that too for evidence!” Akira shouted across to him, he nodded, pushing his hand against the door and opening the door to the trash room. In front of him was a dumpster, filled with garbage bags, along with some strange objects that caught his attention.   
  
First was a bag of sawdust, that must have what Emi spilled after trying to take out the remnants of Shiro’s bookshelf. Though, the thing that was strange was next to it was three bolts, with nuts wrapped around each one. The bolts were covered with a strange white powder, that he didn’t understand.    
  
He approached the bolts, picking them up and rolling one side to side in his fingers, the powder began to cover the finger he was inspecting it with, making him curious. “What is this powder…?” Kenji asked himself, before looking up at the dumpster to find another strange detail.    
  
A speck of red substance on the side of the dumpster. It looked like dried ketchup at a glance, but… Who would throw away a bunch of ketchup, Throwing away his better judgement, he slid a finger across it and and picked some up on his pointer finger. When it was close enough to his face… It was definitely blood.   
  
Kenji had a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers. Why was there blood in this dumpster, and why were all the drains plugged up like that? Was this murder premeditated?   
  
Kenji approached the entrance, looking at Reiko and Akira standing together and walking past him, using a wet towel to wash the blood off his hands as the group of people looked at him. “D-did you find out how he died?” Hana asked, but Kenji looked down, shaking his head.   
  


“N-no. There wasn’t a weapon. My only guess is that he slipped. But… I don’t think there’s enough here to ever possibly know what happened.” He stated, Akira softly rubbing her chin in thought.   
  
“Look… We should search the building, see if we can find any other clues. Crime scenes often have more that people don’t want us to see at a crime scene that they might overlook unless they inspect the whole area.” Akira stated, looking to the group of people.   
  
“The three people who saw the body first have to stay here, everyone else… Form pairs of two to investigate the building!” She exclaimed, but was met with a question by Bam.    
  
“Where is each of us supposed to go?” he asked, but Akira gently began to look at the groups.    
  
“The kitchen and dining room isn’t open, and so is the gymnasium, so investigating those right now seems irrelevant, we can discard those.” Akira said, beginning to eliminate the areas people need to investigate.    
  
“Shiro and Yukiji will investigate the library. Akami and I will investigate the workshop, Reiko and Haru will search the workout room and classrooms. Airi and Yukata will investigate Rio’s Dorm. Hana, Setsuki, and Miho will stay here to answer Kenji’s questions.” Akira concluded, but Emi had a question.    
  
“What about Bam and I?” Emi asked, but Akira already had an idea. “Haru is clearly distressed by this… Keep him company for a while, and promise not to get in anyone else’s way during the investigation.” she added.   
  
“And what assistance will I be?” Dahlia asked, raising a hand so Akira would notice her. Akira drew a blank, she wouldn’t really have anyone to help her investigate.    
  
“Uhh… Search the other dorm rooms, see if you can find anything useful.” She asked, Dahlia shrugging and heading off as the group dispersed, Akira waiting for Akami to approach her so they can walk off as well.   
  
Kenji was left with the three women in front of him, and decided to ask the big question that was bothering him.   
  
“Who found the body first?” He asked, but Setsuki was still completely horrified, and couldn’t respond, so Miho responded for her.    
  
“Setsuki did… Hana has a tradition of showering early in the morning to wake her up, she and I both thought it was a good idea, so… We decided to go with her. She screamed, and we both ran in to see Rio there… dead.” Miho said, her eyes sullen as she spoke.    
  
Hana then spoke up next. “The water was still flooded in the shower when we got there, so… I thought he slipped. I ran up to get you, but by the time you were awake, everyone else was there.” Hana added, Kenji nodding as he gently walked up, putting a hand on Setsuki’s shoulder.    
  
“Is she okay? She’s still in a towel.” Kenji mentioned, Miho just softly shaking her head.   
  
“She saw the body and froze. I don’t really know any good way to wake her up from… whatever the fuck this is.” Miho mentioned, gently walking in front of Setsuki and gently slapping each side of her head. “Wake up, ya dork. We need you for the trial! Can you at least put your pants on before Monokuma shows up?”    
  
Setsuki then fell back, fainting on the floor. Miho just sighed, shaking her head and looking up at Kenji. “Hey… Can I get her to her bedroom? I’ll try and wake her out of… this before the class trial starts. She might be very little help to us, though.” Miho stated, Kenji just quietly sighed, agreeing as Hana and Miho lifted her up. Setsuki’s body was stiff as a board, so they had to haul her like a plank or a small ladder up the stairs.    
  
“I hope Akira and everyone else can come up with something… I have a headache.” Kenji said, rubbing his temples.   
  
Akira made it to the top of the staircase, Akami in tow, though he was a bit slower than her and. Stumbled as he tried to match her dash up the stairs. The other groups began to explore the rest of the building, as Akira dashed her way into the workshop to investigate.    
  
She pulled out her notebook as Akami slowly stepped in just after her, inspecting the room slowly as she read. “This place is… weird. I haven’t been in here before.” Akami said, looking back at her.   
  
“It smells like glue and burnt wood in here. I hate it.” he complained, as Akira softly began to count under her breath each thing she saw in the room. Akira looked up and asked Akami a question.   
  
“Akami, could you do me a favor and open all the drawers in the room? I want to go through them and count them really quick.” She said, Akami looking confused by this before she cleared things up. “If the killer took a tool from here… Then we’ll know what it is by cross referencing the data with my initial inventory.”    
  
“A-alright.” He replied, cautiously strolling to the tool drawers and sitting on both his knees, softly opening each drawer one at a time as Akira inspected the rest of the room. Sitting on a workbench was a long wire, but something was strange about it. One end was tied into a slipknot, the other was tied in a square knot, attached to a loop on the other side.    
  
She began to look at it, as Akami continued to pull out drawer after drawer. “Did you really count all these? What kind of weird OCD do you even have?” He criticized, but Akira just sighed. 

“Hey, paperwork is 85% of police work. Making sure everything's in order means you can save costs by doing proper procedure and inventory.” She refuted, Akami sighing as he continued the menial task.    
  
As she counted, she noticed something strange. Every single wrench on the wall was missing, leaving a dust coated outline of each wrench where they were supposed to be. Why were all the wrenches missing?    
  
Leaving Akami to his boring stupid drawer task, she went around the room, before finding a box surrounded with sawdust. She curiously leant down to inspect the box, opening it up to reveal… all the wrenches that were originally on the walls.    
  
“Who moved these?” Akira asked softly, trying to lift the box of wrenches without removing any, but it proved to be far too heavy to actually lift on her own. The wrenches were made of heavy iron and steel, there would be no way to carry this… It would have to have been dragged to its spot.    
  
She pulled out a wrench, inspecting it and noticing that there seemed to be little spots of dried soap on each one, leaving little white outlines near the handles that brush off as she held them.    
  
“Akira! I’m done opening stupid drawers.” Akami said, standing up and stepping to the side to let her do her thing. She walked over, checking each drawer and methodically checking on each one as Akami slowly walked out of the room.    
  
“Yukiji?” Akami said quietly from outside of the room, though Akira could still easily hear him from this distance. 

“Shiro didn’t want me around. He said me being there in the library with him was making him dumber.” He said, trying to fight a sniffle as he said it. Akami just quietly and gently patted him on the shoulder.    
  
“He’s a dick, that’s sort of par for the course on his part. Do you wanna help us out?” Akami asked, Akira still too focused counting to participate in the conversation. Yukiji nodding gently and looking around the hallway where they were standing, until he noticed something.    
  
“Akira! Get over here!” Yukiji said, Akira quickly leaving a note where she left off before she ran outside to see what Yukiji had noticed. He was pointing a finger lazily at the wall.    
  
“Did these holes always belong here?” Yukiji asked, pointing to the holes drilled into the wall. Akira’s eyes widened as she walked up, inspecting each hole.   
  
They had white drywall powder around each hole, and were about the same thickness as her pointer finger. The 5 holes in the wall were arranged in the shape of a crudely drawn N, her eyes followed the outline, leading up to a small shelf oversitting the hallway, not big enough to put anything there that would be overly huge, like a body or a bicycle, but if someone were to store a box, or a bucket it could just barely fit up there.    
  
“Who drilled these holes…?” Akira asked herself, before turning back to her drawers, quickly finishing up her inventory and realizing two things wrong.    
  
“Did you find anything new, Akira?” Akami asked, dragging Yukiji by the wrist to get the chessmaster to follow him into the room with her. Akira stood up, thinking deeply.   
  
“I found two things. There is a bunch of small wheels in the wrong drawer, and there is about 5 screws missing.” She explained, which made Akami think. 

“Do you think the screws might match the number of holes there are in the wall?” He asked, which Akira responded with a nod.

“There has to be… Why would these happen at the same time, if they aren’t related?” Akira added, but then looked to Yukiji. “Is there anything important you could tell me before I move on from this room, Yukiji?” She asked.   
  
Yukiji nodded, gently thumbing his lip. “I told you about that feeling of someone breathing down my neck yesterday, right?” He asked, Akira nodding. “It happened again. But this time, I heard my door open before it happened!” He said, which made Akira look at him in shock.    
  
“Did you see who opened your door!?” She asked, nearly shouting, but Yukiji gently shook his head. “N-no… I got scared, so I just did my usual thing.” He explained, but Akira raised a brow in question.    
  
“Usual thing?” She asked, but he looked at the floor, poking his pointer fingers together.    
  
“I curled up into a ball. Not my proudest moment.” He said, before the bell rang again. 

  
**Ding Dong, Bing Bong.** ****   
****   
_ “Attention students, I usually give you a lil more time to investigate things before I call you to a class trial, but all of you were investigating machines! After a short breakfast, please meet me in the main hall for the class trial. Attendance is MANDATORY! So don’t skip out, okay?”  _ __   
__   
Monokuma announced that the investigation was wrapping up, so Akira just sighed, taking Akami and Yukiji back downstairs for breakfast.    
  
Breakfast was quiet, painfully quiet. The mood everyone had was gone, any camaraderie, any friendship was missing. There was no enjoyment, only function and preparation for what would come next. Shiro was poring over the pink Monopad, looking through the times over and over.   
  
Emi and Haru were leaning against the wall in complete silence. Miho was trying to feed Setsuki a taco, getting mild responses from her while Hana watched. Kenji was running his fingers in his hair as Yukata ate cereal in the most depressing way someone could eat cereal.    
  
Bam was silent, along with Dahlia. Airi was brooding in the corner. Kiko was asleep on Haru’s lap, Haru gently scratching her head. Akami was patiently applying eyeshadow on his face as a way to distract himself from what happened, and Yukiji was left alone with Akira. Reiko tapped her bat against the floor, eyeing everyone as if waiting for one of them to snap.   
  
“It’s like high noon in here!” Monokuma said, breaking the mood up in the room and causing everyone to snap their attention to him. “Put em up, partner!” Monokuma shouted, but got literally no response from anyone else in the room.   
  
“Ah, come on! You’re all acting like someone died here!” Monokuma shouted, getting furious glares from the room. “Tough crowd…” Monokuma said, pretending to pull at his own collar.   
  
“I guess it’s about that time, ain’t it? Please meet in the center of the main hall.” He said, before dashing out into the next room. Akira slowly stood up, walking to the exit of the dining hall, but in her head it felt like she was walking to a gallows.    
  
“If we get this wrong, that’s it. Someone in here wants us to fail this trial and get caught.” Akira said to herself, looking at everyone in the room before walking to the facade of Monokuma on the emblem in the center of the room. It whirred, opening to reveal a pink colored platform.    
  
“Everybody on!” Monokuma said, hopping onto the platform and waiting for the others to stand on the elevator with him. Everyone took slow steps, a stillness in the air, seeing the smiling visage of Junko as they got onto the platform. A click echoed in the building, as the platform slowly began to sink foot by foot into the ground, a tunnel with a light every few feet lighting them up and passing by them.    
  
Kenji approached Emi, gently looking at her. “So, this is it, huh?” he asked, Emi looking at the floor and nodding.

“Kenji… No matter what happens. Promise me that we’ll make it through this together, alright?” She said, looking up at him with a tear forming in her eye.    
  
Kenji smiled at her, reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it, everything should be fine. We’ll find out who’s keeping us here and win, right?” he said, lying more to himself. Right now, everything was so confusing. Someone had killed one of the nicest people in the University and there were no leads. There were suspicions, but nothing that he could confirm from what he seen. Akira might have something, but she had no confidence, and didn’t seem to know what any of the things she learned will help either.   
  
Shiro knew things, but had been tight-lipped since the investigation started, he was worried if he told anyone anything, he would have to start suspecting someone. Kenji wished none of them were guilty. Looking at everyone as the elevator dropped down, the wave of sadness seemed to fade, only leaving a haze of confusion and nervousness. Even the muzak Monokuma blared through the speakers seemed to fade to echoes and white noise in his head.

As the elevator landed with a chime, Monokuma spoke up. “Ah! Almost forgot! The important factor of every investigations and class trial! Iiiiit’s… the Monokuma File!” he said, pulling out a file folder emblazoned with his face on it.   
  
“It’s actually not in this document. I just updated your student handbooks if you actually want to check it. This is more just a prop.” Monokuma commented with a shrug.    
  
Kenji took out the handbook, reading the Monokuma file now uploaded onto it.   
  
Monokuma File #1   
Rio Daisuke   
The victim was found in the shower room at 5:00AM   
The estimated time of death is ???   
The cause of death was a single blow to the back of the head, killing him instantly.   
There seems to be no other wounds visible on his body.   
  
Kenji guessed this may be important depending on how the trial goes.   
  
_ The sun rises on the class trial, and when it sets, another one of us will be dead, and our lives will be changed forever. _


	9. THE FIRST MURDER TRIAL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will be a lot of talking.

**CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!**

_The students are taken to a large room resembling a courtroom, with 16 podiums standing in a circle facing each other. One of them had a stand with Rio’s face on it, crossed out crudely with a marker. Monokuma was sitting on the judge’s chair, but it looked more like a throne. Besides him was a large flat screen TV with the university logo on it. Kenji and Akira were facing each other, Shiro was on Kenji’s right, and Kenji was facing Monokuma. The 15 remaining students finally approached their podiums, as Monokuma began to speak.__  
__  
_**Monokuma:** Allow me to call this Class Trial into session! Before we begin, allow me to begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial, you will be presenting your arguments over a simple question of ‘Whodunnit’? At the end of the trial, or the end of the countdown monitor placed to my side, a vote will be called.   
  
**Monokuma Cont’d: **If the majority is successful in voting for the correct student, the Blackened will be punished. But, if you vote for the wrong one? All students besides the blackened will be punished instead, which will result in the Blackened graduating the school, and escaping back to the outside world.   
  
**Monokuma Cont’d:** If you refuse to vote, you will be dealt with. As in… You’ll die. So remember to vote, everybody! So, let’s get this totally radical, dopalicious, something something class trial underway!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** I’ll start this with a simple question, Monokuma. Will you abide to my request?  
  
**Monokuma:** Sure, but I’m not here to hold your hand, so any questions you have will have to be good ones.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Understood._ <Shiro clears his throat> _If Rio Daisuke’s cause of death was an accident, his own fault… Who would we vote for?   
  
**Monokuma:** Okay, I can actually answer that one! If Rio’s death was something that nobody else interfered in, Rio would be the one you vote for. But if Rio’s accident was caused by sabotage, then you would have to vote for the one who did the sabotaging.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Understood. And allow me to lead that into my follow up question.   
  
**Monokuma:** I’m alllll ears. Bear ears that is. Wait… That wasn’t actually a pun. Continue, Shiro.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** _<sarcastic>_ Right. As I perused the Monokuma File I realized something was off. The time of death. You’ve written the time of the body’s discovery, but you left the time of Rio’s death ambiguous. Why is that?  
  
**Monokuma:** Here’s a good rule of thumb for all the trials from this point onward, Kiruma. If I leave out a detail on the Monokuma file, It’s a detail I feel like that should be discussed by you guys. Telling you when this particular time happened, would mean you wouldn’t have to check alibis later. And that would be boring.  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** So, I guess that means the time of death would be a mystery for now. I think the thing we should do first is… probably discuss the details of his death that we know of from the Monokuma file.   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Right, I guess we’ll start with events chronologically, and increase the depth of the conversation from there. Setsuki?  
**  
****Setsuki Yori**: …  
  
**Akira Kazue: **Oh right, I forgot. Sorry. She’s still not all there just yet.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** I guess that means I’ll have to talk for her, then. Ever since I started the junior high school basketball team, I always made it a habit to shower pretty early in the day, since it wakes me up and gets me focused before my instructor’s drills. Setsuki and Miho wanted to try it out, since we’ve been hanging out a lot more recently.   
  
**Hana Okamoto Cont’d: **I woke up around 4:45 this morning, Setsuki was already awake, and Miho was tired, but we knocked on her door a few times, and she eventually came out of her dorm room, and agreed to shower with me.  
  
**Miho Ishii:** You didn't have to knock so damn hard. I’m not that heavy of a sleeper…  
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Shhhh. Lemme keep talkin’, Miho! Setsuki got to the entrance of the shower room, which is the dressing room. She took off her clothes as we both showed up. When she walked into the shower, she saw Rio, and screamed.  
  
**Hana Okamoto Cont’d:** He was dead, in a pool of his own blood, mixed in with the water on the floor. Then I ran up stairs, waking up people until I got to Kenji, who was there last. Sorry Kenji, your dorm is the last in the hallway. 

**Yukata Watanabe:** But why was there water on the floor?   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Here’s what I think happened.   
  
_ The TV monitor lit up, showing the words DEBATE and a timer counting down from 30 minutes. _   
**   
** **Hana Okamoto Cont’d:** Rio wanted to shower even earlier than us! So he went to the shower room to get the sleep out of his eyes.    
  
**Hana Okamoto Cont’d:** He didn’t know how long he was gonna be there, so the water started to get on the floor.   
  
**Hana Okamoto Cont’d:** He slipped, fell and hit his head on the shower, and that’s how he died! It was an accident, probably.

**Kenji Taisei: No, that’s wrong!**   
**   
** **Kenji Taisei Cont’d: ** Hana… I don’t think that’s it. Did you see the position Rio was in when we found him? He was in the  **center** of the room, and the wound was on the back of his head.   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** To give him a wound like that, and make him fall forward implies something stuck the back of his head, causing him to fall forward, not the opposite.   
  
_ The timer stopped at 29:01 _ _   
_ _   
_ **Hana Okamoto:** Monokuma, what’s that timer?   
  
**Monokuma:** The debate timer! If someone is presenting an argument, I’ll start a countdown clock to stop the conversation from running in circles. You can stop it at any time with the phrase ‘No, That’s wrong.’ There is also a button on your podium, if you don’t feel like saying it.    
  
**Hana Okamoto** : Oh. Okay!   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** It kind of reminds me of a chess timer. You start the timer when it’s your turn, and you stop it when you’ve completed your move, it prevents the game from taking too long, but still giving you time to think.   
  
**Bam Takahashi:** An impressive first counter by Kenji Taisei! Will Hana bounce back from the cold hard fact SMACKDOWN that Kenji’s gonna lay on her!?   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** W-what!? I wasn’t trying to beat her in a conversation, I was just trying to correct her… 

**Hana Okamoto: ** Oh yeah? OH YEAH?!? Well, if he didn’t slip on the floor, then what was with the water on the floor?!?    
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** Hana, why are you shouting at me!?

**Hana Okamoto:** YOU'RE JUST AFRAID TO BE DUNKED BY MY BRAAAAIN!  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** _<Sighs>__  
_**_  
_****Yukata Watanabe:** Regardless of how… weirdly competitive this conversation is getting. I think Hana has a good question. Why is there so much water collecting on the floor near Rio? Why is it happening?  
  
**Miho Ishii:** Well, it’s like Hana said. Rio left the shower running and the water pooled. When he slipped and died, he couldn’t turn it off, meaning the water would collect in the room.

**Kenji Taisei:** No, I don’t think that’s it. When I checked the shower room, Rio actually had his clothes on. Why would he be showering with his clothes on, or slip afterward?   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** He got his clothes on, then slipped!   
  
**Airi Kudo:** Kenji knows why the water was pooling in the room, I wish he would actually explain these things instead of letting a roundtable of stupid happen.   
  
**Reiko Ono:** WANNA TALK SHIT, KUDO? I DON’T SEE YOU DOING ANYTHING USEFUL!   
  
**Airi Kudo: ** I’m not ‘talking shit’ I’m saying Kenji should know why the water was collecting in the room. He was in charge of investigating it, and I saw him drying his hands off with a towel on his way out.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Yeah, Airi’s right… despite how she’s speaking. I know how the water collected in the room.   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** In two of the showers, there were towels stuffed down their drains, then the water was turned on so it would pool on the floor.    
  
**Miho Ishii: ** Does that mean we have to rule out an accident, if someone flooded the room and caused him to slip? I’ve taken back bumps before, but that was something waaaay more fierce.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** So… he slipped in the shower after someone sabotaged it? Who could have done that?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** I have an idea of who.   
  
_ The timer starts. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Shiro Kiruma:** One possibility is that Yori didn’t wake up at 4:45 PM, Okamoto said when she woke up, Setsuki was already awake. Yori probably stuffed the towels down the drain, flooded the bathroom and caused him to slip and fall, then pretended to be surprised when she saw the result.    
  
**Emi Nakayama** : So, there’s a chance that Setsuki did it?

**Shiro Kiruma: ** There’s a larger than small likelihood that she may be the culprit, yes.   
  
**Airi Kudo: I can see through that!** **   
  
**

_ The Timer Stops at 27:53 _   
  
**Airi Kudo:** Shiro, stop running the case around. You know why Setsuki couldn’t have done it.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Excuse me, Ms. Kudo?    
  
**Airi Kudo:** You heard me. When Monokuma gave us a motive, you took that fuschia colored Monopad that detailed who opened and closed the doors between the periods of 11PM and 1 AM.    
  
**Airi Kudo Cont’d** : If Setsuki went out of her room to setup the shower trap, then the logs would show if she left her room before Daisuke did, since it would require a few hours to pool that water around him.    
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** I was saving that for later, but fine. I will reveal the details of last night on my Monopad.    
  
_ Shiro pulled out the pink Monopad, pressing a button to open the file, which automatically moved to the TV screen beside Monokuma.  _ _   
_   
Emi’s Door Opens: 11:01 PM 

Dahlia’s Door Opens: 11:10 PM 

Yukiji’s Door Opens: 11:14 PM 

Emi’s Door Opens: 11:18 PM 

Rio’s Door Opens: 11:22 PM    
Emi’s Door Opens: 11:24 PM 

Yukata’s Door Opens: 11:29 PM    
Kenji’s Door Opens: 11:30 PM 

Kenji’s Door Opens: 11:34 PM    
Yukata’s Door Opens: 11:34 PM 

Emi’s Door Opens: 11:44 PM    
Yukiji’s Door Opens: 11:51 PM 

Dahlia’s Door Opens: 11:58 PM.    
Akira’s Door Opens 12:35 PM    
Akira’s Door Opens: 12:42 PM   
  
**Airi Kudo:** According to this, Setsuki either set the trap BEFORE the locks opened, or she was never in her room in the first place. If we can have anyone who knew where Setsuki was before 11 PM, then she would have an alibi to not set the trap.    
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Setsuki was with me before 11 PM.    
  
**Setsuki Yori:** ...We were getting ready to go to bed… Akira got done braiding Hana’s hair, and she wanted to show it off to me while we got some exercise in the gym before Monokuma closed it at 10.    
  
**Haru Yamada:** She can talk! It’s a miracle. <3   
**   
** **Setsuki Yori: ** After night time came, we said goodnight to each other, and went to our bedrooms before the unlock happened. I was asleep until 4 this morning… I would never think about killing Rio.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** It still could have happened in the 3 hour gap between 1 and 4, but Okamoto could at least vouch for you up until 10:30 PM.   
  
**Setsuki Yori:** …   
  
**Haru Yamada:** She broke again. Damn it....   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Look… she might still be a suspect, but I want to discuss the case a bit more before I come to any more conclusions. Remember, the time of death is still in question.    
  
**Bam Takahashi:** And what about Officer Akira Kazue? The timekeeper has it recorded that she was the last to leave her room during the unlocked hours!   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** YEAH! IMMA EAT HER!   
  
**Akira Kazue:** ...Well, the thing is Rio would still be outside of his room by the time I left, since it never indicated that he went back inside. Where could he have stayed if there’s only one staircase down to the ground floor shower room?   
  
**Bam Takahashi:** You coulda hid in a closet or something! Maybe you hid in that dumpster room Kenji brought up!   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** WE’LL GRIND YOUR BONES TO DUST!!!   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Well... I didn’t see him when I went downstairs to the bathroom.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** WE WILL EAT YOUR FAMIL- wait, the downstairs bathroom? Doesn’t your bathroom work? That’s hella suspicious. 

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** O~hohohoho. Well now, it would appear that our dear Officer Kazue is cast in the harsh spotlight of culpability. However, a dark savior bears the truth that will-

**Airi Kudo:** Just get to the point, Dahlia. We don’t have the time or the patience for vampire theatrics.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** True, your mortal shells are fragile pawns of ongoing decay! As you may recall, Takahashi and I were assigned to investigate the dorm rooms.

**Bam Takahashi:** I investigated the boy’s dorms and Dahlia took the girl’s!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Correct. And to all those breathing a sigh of relief that Takahashi did not rifle through your personal affects or decide to relieve himself in every women’s bathroom out of an act of defiance… you may all thank me with eternal servitude.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d:** In my search through Kazue’s dorm, I had discovered that her toilet was indeed broken.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** Does my guilt really have to involve me going to the bathroom? I didn’t sign up for this.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** The handle’s devotion to the task of causing the water to flush was broken off into a little stump, Kazue placed it on the sink and now simply has to go downstairs to relieve herself.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** The toilets are designed like a school’s toilets. There’s no back tank, so I couldn't reach my hand in and pull the flap to allow the water to release.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Why isn’t that something I heard before the trial as evidence?   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** I didn’t think it would have became such an issue~ Tell me, Taisei. Are you often interested in the bathroom habits of young women? How deviant!

**Kenji Taisei:** Wh-what?!? No! But it would’ve solidified Akira’s alibi!

_ Akira was reduced to mortified whines at this turn in the case _

**Haru Yamada:** And if she left at 12:35 to poop, then she couldn’t have had the time to set up the murder! Trust me, poopin’ takes awhile!

**Kiko:** Arf! Arf!

**Monokuma:** Who let the dog in the trial room?!? She is not an enrolled student of Enoshima University!

**Haru Yamada:** Where I go, Kiko follows! You got a problem with that, Monokuma?

**Monokuma:** She’s a cotton ball with eyes! How is she going to contribute anything to the case?!?

_ Kiko looked at Monokuma, eyes sparkling and head tilted. _

**Monokuma:** D’awww… lookit at the widdle- Damn it! She’s distractingly adorable!!! Fine, the doggo stays!

**Kenji Taisei:** Anyway… strange as it sounds, Akira’s scot free.

**Yukiji Chimon:** But then, if Akira was pooping in the downstairs bathroom, then who went into my room?

**Shiro Kiruma:** I fail to see the relevance of your night terrors to this case, Chimon. We are here to solve a murder, not make the Boogeyman go away.

**Miho Ishii:** Wait, so that wasn’t you opening your door, Yukiji?

**Yukiji Chimon: ** No! Ever since Monokuma put in the unlocked doors thingy, I’ve been hearing this soft breathing in my room.

**Shiro Kiruma:** You heard your own breath. Stop interrupting the trial for this nonsense. We have to focus on Daisuke’s murder.

**Kenji Taisei:** Wait, Shiro!

**Shiro Kiruma:** Oh, don’t tell me you want to know about Chimon’s imaginary monsters as well, Taisei.

**Kenji Taisei:** Look, if we figure this out, we can give Yukiji an alibi. The more alibis we have, the more clear the actual culprit will be. 

**Shiro Kiruma:** ...Go on.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** ...Emi, do you have like a weird stalker crush on Yukiji? I don’t see why but… guess I have to ask, don’t I?

**Emi Nakayama:** Wh-what?!? No! Where would you even get such an idea, Kenji?!?

**Kenji Taisei:** I-I was looking at the door times! Yours was the first one to open, then Dahlia’s and then Yukiji’s!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Consider your answer more carefully, Nakayama. The correct answer means you also have an alibi for the time of the murder.

_ There is a slight pause as Emi bit her lip in thought. _

**Emi Nakayama:** No! I wasn’t stalking Yukiji!

**Shiro Kiruma:** Hm, interesting. Then why did you leave your room twice in that 2 hour period?    
  
**Emi Nakayama:** When I got done making your bookcase, I had a lot of mess left over. There was sawdust everywhere. I realized that, and had to make my way back up to the workshop from my bedroom to sweep it up. A tidy workshop means you’re a good carpenter, Shiro.   
  


**Yukiji Chimon:** Uh… but what about the stalker? We still haven’t-

  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Chimon! This little diversion of yours was amusing at first, but we have your door opening twice as well! And since I assume your toilet works-

**Bam Takahashi:** Yukiji Chimon’s bathroom is fully functional!

**Shiro Kiruma:** Thank you, Takahashi. No further detail will be necessary.

**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d: ** Then that means that there is a time frame of over a half hour in which you could have commited the murder!

_ The timer starts _ _   
_ _   
_ **Shiro Kiruma** _ :  _ Chimon had an opportune time to set up the murder of Daisuke, he stayed awake and used his excuse of a stalker to cover up the fact he could head to the showers BEFORE Rio got out of his room.    
  
**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d:** If Chimon had about a 5 minute gap to head downstairs before Daisuke, he would start flooding the bathroom, the catalyst for Rio’s death.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d:** It’s too bad Chimon’s so stupid for a chess genius, do you really expect me to believe that he has a stalker!?   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: O~hohohoho! You have a tongue of serpent’s venom!**

  
_ Timer stops at 25:31 _

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** I will not allow you to impugn Yukiji’s honor with your bile, Kiruma!! This witch trial shall come to a halt!

**Shiro Kiruma:** Kurotsuki! What are you blathering about?!?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** I speak of your accusation that such a pure creature such as Yukiji would be guilty of murder! Yukiji could not have acted for he never left his room the whole night!

_ At this, Akira broke from stupor of embarrassment. _

**Akira Kazue: ** W-wait! Dahlia! How do you know Yukiji never left?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah... I must break my silence and confess the truth of my blackened heart! I was the one who entered Yukiji’s room. I was watching over him, keeping guard of him in case one of you savages tried to steal him from me!   
  
_ There is at least a minute of silence. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Reiko Ono** : CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY THE SHIT DAHLIA HAS A THING FOR YUKIJI? He’s a pasty ass chess nerd!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** He is a silent soul! A brilliant mind! It all began on that fateful day. When I awoke in the darkness of that metal coffin-

**Yukata Watanabe: ** _ <Confused> _ It.. was a locker.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : Silence, you cur! As I was saying, I had opened my eyes to see him through the blinds. His wispy ivory locks, his steely eyes blackened with a mist that hid his true intentions, his soft, hushed voice. He’s an enigma wrapped with a red ribbon belonging to me!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d: ** To lose him in this Killing Game, to go on for an eternity without seeing someone of his caliber. Locked in an endless mortal coil of flesh and stupidity. I could not dare fathom my life with another soul, none could possibly compare to one potential vampire lord such as him, WE WILL REIGN over this wretched world one day~!.    
  
_ There was another minute of silence. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Yukiji Chimon:** ...Huh?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** …O~hohohoho. Oh, Yukiji. Your innocence is so charming. Do not fret, now that I see how my presence has caused you such distress, I shall protect cloaked within the shadows of the night! I will no longer enter into your room without your express permission! Your deepest wish is all I ask in return!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** I really wish I was in another room right now.

**Shiro Kiruma:** As… fascinating as that was, it would appear that Chimon, and by extension Kurotsuki, have alibis. I must say I pity you, Chimon. Even if it means you’re clear, I wouldn’t want to have Kurotsuki watching me sleep.

**Kenji Taisei:** Right, well…That was weird. Regardless, we’re kind of in a bind. There really isn’t enough evidence to pin this on anybody and have it make logical sense.    
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** Akira, Emi, Yukiji, and Dahlia all have alibis, there’s nothing to prove Setsuki did anything, Miho and Hana have alibis. Besides me, Yukata and Rio, no one else even left their rooms that night… And if they did, they wouldn’t have enough time to make the crime scene we all witnessed. Where do we even go from here?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** There is one thing we haven’t considered, Kenji.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** What would that be?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Maybe the crime didn’t  **happen** in the shower room.    
  
**Akami Sakiko:** If the murder didn’t happen in the shower room, that would bring up all the things you’ve found in your investigation, Akira!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** I admit… I’ve been wanting to hear what everyone found in their investigations, we never discussed it except for Dahlia’s and Bam’s searches.   
**   
** **Shiro Kiruma:** Enlighten me, what other things were found in the rooms we’ve searched during the investigation?    
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** I wouldn’t know anything about what you found in the library, Shiro. Since you kicked me out n’ all.   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** How DARE thee! I will swear revenge on Yukiji’s honor that I will aven-   
  
**Airi Kudo:** Shut up.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma** : …   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** …   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** …   
  


**Kenji Taisei:** If the crime didn’t happen in the shower room, and instead happened in another room, it would explain some things.   
**   
** **Kenji Taisei Cont’d: ** For example… we found Rio’s body face down in the water, remember? If the wound was on the back of his head, then he wouldn’t have fallen forward when he died, he would have been on his back if he hit the back of his head against something.   
**   
** **Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** And I just realized what the purpose of the water on the floor was from that hint, Akira… Thank you.   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d Again: ** The water on the floor was to hide the blood trail, that indicates which room Rio was killed in. If they moved his body, it would leave a dragging smear of blood either along the floor, or in his clothing.    
  
**Airi Kudo:** If the water soaked the floor, any blood would seep into the water, water is known as the ultimate solvent, it mixes with anything that isn’t oil based, especially if the blood on the floor hasn’t dried yet.    
**   
** **Kenji Taisei:** The shower water was set to hot, making his body warm to the touch. Though, I wish I checked how cold Rio was for myself...   
  
**Haru Yamada:** Why make the body still warm?    
  
**Akira Kazue:** To make it even more difficult to determine when his death happened. The colder a body is, the longer it’s been since their cells stopped producing heat. The hot water kept the body warm in order to confuse us further on the time of death.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Especially since I didn’t find a murder weapon in the shower room, and nobody could have been in the shower from 1 am to 5 am.   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** But I did find something interesting. In the dumpster that connects the shower room to the dumpster, I found a blood smear on the lip of it. The strange thing about this was that the blood stain was older than the stains we found in the shower room, since those started to wash away from the water.    
  
**Setsuki Yori:** Really? That’s awesome! Wait. It’s still a murder. Not awesome.   
  
**Haru Yamada: ** Setsuki’s alive again!    
  
**Kiko:** Yip!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Shiro investigated the library and found…   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Absolutely nothing relevant to the case, but someone made a chessboard on the floor made of chalk, along with some soil on the ground.   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** Whoops. Sorry bout that...   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Haru and Reiko checked the exercise room and classrooms on the third floor and found…   
  
**Reiko Ono:** Fuck all.    
  
**Haru Yamada:** Found some Monocoins though! Toootally gonna spend them later too.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Airi and Yukata searched Rio’s room for any leads and found…   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** His room was like... an exact copy of my room in every way, except for all his sweet leather jackets. They didn’t fit though.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** You tried them on?   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** They looked warm, okay? I was jealous. I wanted to add another coat to my collection.   
  
**Hana Okamoto: ** You wear like… two coats, you know that right? Why do you want a third coat?   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Respect is in the dress, Hana!   
  
**Akami Sakiko:** I would agree… but Yukata looks like he came from a thrift store.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** So, what I’m hearing is that the investigation has run cold.

**Akira Kazue:** Not quite. Kenji mentioned something that caught my attention, suddenly… the entire third floor just became a crime scene.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** What do you mean? How is the entire third floor a crime scene?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Do you know where you throw your trash bags to end up in that dumpster with the blood stain?    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** N-not really… I haven’t emptied my trash can yet in my room. I didn’t really think about it.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** The way you dispose of your trash is on the third floor, besides the janitor’s closet. There is a trash chute that you can open and drop your trash, it will fall down a slide, and land in the room beside the shower room for Monokuma to dispose of.    
  
**Monokuma:** That I mention WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN!    
  


**Setsuki Yori:** Hey, yeah! You and Yukiji rode down that chute yesterday! I still don’t know if I can fit a luge down there, but I’ll find out!

**Akira Kazue: **Right… and no one else is gonna ride down that chute! I mean it this time.  
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d:** Here’s the thing… only two people knew about my ride from the trash chute on the third floor, to the dumpster on the first one. And that would be Emi Nakayama, and Setsuki Yori. Did either of you tell anyone about my...unfortunate ride into the dumpster.  
  
**Emi Nakayama:** I didn’t…  
  
**Setsuki Yori:** _<Smiling proudly>_ I told everyone!

**Akira Kazue:** _<Grasping her heart.>_ My reputation is the lowest it’s ever been because of this class trial… 

  
**Haru Yamada: ** That’s our dumpster divin’ poop machine of a police girl!   
  
_ Akira cries in anguish. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Akami Sakiko: ** Please… let’s move on from all that. I really don’t need to hear the word ‘poop’ again in this trial… This is enough of a joke as it is.    
**   
** **Kenji Taisei: ** So… What I’m inferring from this is that… Rio could have died on the third floor any time after he left his room at 10:22 PM, then his body could have been slid to the bottom floor. That means that some of our alibis might be up for question again.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Since I have no desire to listen to Kurotsuki’s verbal dribble again, I’ll accept her and Chimon’s alibis as standing even with this change.    
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** Yay.   
  
**Emi Nakayama: HOLD ON!** **   
** _ Timer Start _ _   
_   
**Emi Nakayama: ** But we still don’t have the murder weapon, or a location on the third floor. How are we supposed to pin those down when we don’t even know who was outside of their room when Rio died?   
**   
** **Emi Nakayama Cont’d: ** He could have died any time we didn’t see him. The fact that the body was warmed back up by the shower water could only mean that the time of death is uncertain again!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** She is right in the sense that even if the murder didn’t happen in the shower room. There still isn’t a weapon, a method, or anyone who could have done it.   
  
**Emi Nakayama:** The only thing that makes sense is if the murder DIDN’T happen in the 2 hour time period! 

**Kenji Taisei: No, That’s wrong!**   
  
_ Timer Stopped at 21:15 _

**Kenji Taisei: ** I have an idea as to exactly when Rio died, since it’s also my alibi.

_ <A sound of shock filled from the group in the trial room.> _ _   
_ _   
_ **Reiko Ono:** Ya do? Well shit, man! Tell us!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Now that we have Shiro’s log of our doors opening… The death of Rio had to have happened between 11:22 PM, and 11:30 PM. When a  **strange thump** woke me from my sleep last night.    
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Yeah! I remember that. I got out of my room around 11:30 as well, when I got Kenji to come with me to check it out!   
  
**Emi Nakayama: ** I told you guys this already… That was when I fell and split the sawdust!    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Honestly? I don’t think you and some sawdust would be enough to cause a thump that heavy. Rio though? We saw the damage to his skull… He must have been hit very hard around the same time you were cleaning.   
  
_ <Akira covers her mouth, looking at the floor.> _ _   
_ _   
_ **Shiro Kiruma:** Alright, so the murder might have been committed on the third floor. But we still don’t know what the weapon was, or a window of time someone could have commited the murder.    
  


**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d:** I guess it would be time to get more information from officer Kazue about what other things she found in the workshop, possibly anything resembling a murder weapon?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Unfortunately, I don’t recall anything that could have been used as a weapon at a glance. Typically a murder weapon would either have dried blood on it, or possibly some superficial damage if it’s been washed beforehand.    
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d:** That doesn’t mean I didn’t find anything strange, because there were several things out of place.    
  
**Reiko Ono:** So… things in the room were misplaced. Do you think that could lead up to anything?    
  
**Akira Kazue:** If anyone recalls, part of my procedures is to take inventory of rooms with potential murder weapons, and since the workshop contained the most possibilities for weapons, I decided to count them on the first day we were at the academy.   
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d:** Almost all things were accounted for, but there were several changes from the last time I entered the room. 5 pairs of nuts and bolts have been removed from a drawer containing nuts, bolts and nails.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** That’s weird, because while I did find nuts and bolts in the trash chute, I could only find three bolts total, and they were covered in a strange white powder. Where would the other two be?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** We’ll get to that as I list off more differences in the workshop. The next difference, is a length of wire that I suspect to be about 25 feet in length was tied off at both ends.    
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d: ** One was tied into a slipknot, designed to change the length of it’s loop. The other side was tied into a square knot, meaning that the length of the loop could not change. The fixed loop’s diameter would appear to be about 18 inches across.    
  
**Setsuki Yori:** The murder weapon was the wire!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** That would make no sense. He was hit with something heavy, that's the only way his skull would have been so damaged.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** The last thing that was different concerned me when I looked at it. All of the 45 or so wrenches places along the wall on nail mounts have been removed from the wall, and placed in a box in the corner of the room. They were covered in a garbage bag, and had sawdust all around the bottom of it.   
**Shiro Kiruma:** Could you possibly have lifted the box to observe if there was a blood stain underneath it? Or did you check that any of the individual wrenches had blood stains on them?    
  
**Akira Kazue:** The combined weight of the wrenches made them immensely heavy. They were all pipe wrenches made of iron, so I would estimate each one would weigh around 2.5, to 5 pounds a piece.    
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** If we averaged the weight out to about 3 pounds, 3 times 45 would be over 135 pounds, possibly even more, how would you lift that?   
  
**Reiko Ono:** I mean, I probably could, but I was exploring the top floor.    
  
**Akira Kazue:** That would have been nice, but sadly the investigation is over and we can’t leave until we vote.    
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** But what about the wrenches in the box, were there blood stains?   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** I didn’t have the time to sieve through all the pipe wrenches to see if they had stains on them, but the ones on the surface had weird stains on them, that weren’t blood.   
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d:** I think the closest thing I could think of that was covering some of the wrenches was… Dried soap? It was speckled and flaked off when I ran my fingers over it. I don’t really know what else they could be covered in.    
  


_ Timer Starts  _

  
**Bam Takahashi:** Soap!? What a strange turn of events in this case. Was Rio dealt a hand of soapy death!?    
  
**Akira Kazue:** No, but it makes me think maybe we have a murder weapon that may have been covered up.    
  
**Setsuki Yori: ** Was it the wrenches!? Did they hit him with a wrench!?   
  
**Setsuki Yori Cont’d:** Or maybe it was several wrenches, they hit them with each wrench, then washed them off afterward?   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** But it says he died instantly. Did he die on the first hit, then they continued hitting them?   
**   
** **Bam Takahashi: ** Maybe he got hit with ALL the wrenches at the SAME TIME!   
  
**Akira Kazue: I agree with Takahashi!** **   
** **   
** _ Timer Stops at 19:44 _ _   
_ _   
_ **Reiko Ono:** Okay Kazue… Can you please explain to me. How in the living shit did the killer hit Rio with ALL THE WRENCHES at the same goddamn time?   
  
**Akira Kazue** : Think about it, I’ll give you guys some time.   
  
**Setsuki Yori:** Alright! Time for thinkin’!

_ Setsuki closes her eyes, leaning left to right with her arms outstretched and creating “woosh!” sounds with her mouth. _

**Yukata Watanabe:** ...What is she doing?

**Hana Okamoto** : ...I… don’t know…

**Setsuki Yori:** _ <muttering> _ Woooah~ Look out for the big juuump~ Watch out for those triangles!   
  
**Reiko Ono:** ‘kay, she’s lost it.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Let’s just keep going…   
  
_ Timer Starts _ _   
_ _   
_ **Kenji Taisei:** Would it be possible for the culprit to throw all the wrenches?    
  
**Akira Kazue** : That would be pretty hard, they would most likely miss unless they were good at throwing stuff.   
  
**Hana Okamoto: ** I’m only good at passing stuff, I wouldn’t be able to throw something heavy like that!    
  
**Setsuki Yori:** I fell down a hole! Damn it!   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** What if they like… avalanched the wrenches onto him?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** These are getting stupider by the minute. Does anyone have a good idea how he could have got hit with more than one wrench at the same time? Kazue, I’m blaming you for this.   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** I’m just saying tha-   
  
**Setsuki Yori: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IGOTIT!!!** **   
  
**

_ Timer stops at 15:22 _ **   
** **   
** **Setsuki Yori Cont’d: ** THEY WERE DROPPED ON HIM! I MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM OF BRAIN MOUNTAIN!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** W-what!?   
  
**Setsuki Yori: ** T-the wrenches! If they all were dropped at the same time, it would cause the sound that Kenji heard. The big thump!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Then where were the wrenches dropped from?   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** There’s a shelf oversitting the workshop in the hallway. It’s not a big one, and it looks to mostly be used for backup supplies. Maybe the culprit put the wrenches up there, waited and then pushed them off to land on Rio.    
_   
_ _ Timer Start _ _   
  
_

**Kenji Taisei:** Did the culprit like… sit on the shelf with a bunch of wrenches, waiting to drop them?  
  
**Shiro Kiruma: **They must be contained in the box that Kazue found when they were dropped on Rio. Then the culprit shoved it back into position.   
**  
****Kenji Taisei:** How would they get all the wrenches up there? It weighs over 135 pounds or more, the shelf must be at least 8 or 9 feet in the air.   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: **Maybe someone did 3 pointers with the wrenches until the box was full, then used their skills as the _Ultimate Basketball Star_ to leap themselves up into the corridor? They might have done this before the doors unlocked at 11 PM.  
**  
****Hana Okamoto:** Oh, you’re trying to blame it on me now!? Wanna get dunked on, VAMPIRE GIRL!?  
  
**Kenji Taisei: **Hana, how fast could you get 45 3 pointers?  
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Excuse me? EXCUSE ME!?  
  
**Hana Okamoto cont’d:** I can get 45 3 pointers in 90 seconds flat! EASY!  
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Y’know you’re digging your own grave, right?  
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** There, we have a basis of logic~ Hana Okamoto could have thrown the wrenches up there with precision, then lie there in wait for Rio Daisuke to walk underneath her, so she could kill her!  
  
**Akira Kazue:** **No. You’re wrong.****  
****  
**_Timer Stops at 11:51__  
__  
_**Akira Kazue: **Need I remind you that we have Shiro’s door logs? Hana would have to have been outside of her room before 11 PM, then re-enter the room after 1 AM to be able to successfully evade the unlock time. I went downstairs about 20 minutes before then, and I didn’t even see her.  
  
**Hana Okamoto: **Yeah, that and I would be only functioning on like… 3 hours of sleep right now.  
  
**Akira Kazue: **And if the time of death was around 11:30 at night, like Kenji said… Then Emi, Kenji and Yukata would have been able to see her if she was hiding on a shelf.   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: **That’s what I get for trying to think outside the box~_  
  
_

**Yukata Watanabe:** Was that a pun? Please don’t tell me she just made a pun.   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** O~hohohoho!   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** I think it’s time to bring up the last thing I saw while investigating.   
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d:** I saw five holes drilled in the wall in a rather strange shape. It was shaped somewhat like an N, the holes were about the same diameter of the bolts that went missing.    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** An N? Why would they put bolts in the wall shaped like an N?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** To use the wheels misplaced in the walls as a pulley.   
  
**Akira Kazue:** A pulley? How would a pulley help?   
  
**Airi Kudo** : Pulleys use either multiple wheels and tensions to distribute the force of an object, allowing it to be easier to lift. If they used 5 wheels in an N shape, the wheels would be distributing the weight across 5 different points, pretty much making the wall into a makeshift block and tackle. It’s one of the simple machines you learn in physics class.   
  
**Monokuma** : Ooooh~ Sciency.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Someone used a compound pulley system to make them able to lift the box of wrenches into position. They must have used the looped wire, right?

  
**Akira Kazue** : That would make it the easiest for someone to do it, they then leaned the box up against the self, waiting for Rio to walk underneath of it.    
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Then… who could have used a pulley system to do something that complex?   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : Look… I was the one who set the trap.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Emi? You set the trap that killed Rio?    
  
**Emi Nakayama** : Yeah. I did… But I never meant to kill him. It was a simple snare trap, he steps in the slipknot and pulls it, it pulls the box off the shelf and the pulleys would lift him upside down. It was designed to keep him still.   
  
**Emi Nakayama Cont’d** : I designed the trap, then went into my room. The wire wasn’t supposed to be long enough for the box of wrenches to hit the ground. I just wanted to use it as a ballast to keep him still so I could… speak to him.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Was it a miscalculation? Maybe the rope was longer than you thought.   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : No. I don’t make mistakes in my engineering. I’m supposed to be the Ultimate Carpenter. The wire was the exact length I needed for the trap’s ballast to activate safely.    
  
**Emi Nakayama Cont’d** : When I heard the noise, I went out of my bedroom and found Kenji’s body horribly disfigured, but the other thing I noticed was there were two bolts removed from the setup.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Someone modified the trap!?    
  
**Emi Nakayama** : I don’t know who did it.   
  
**Akira Kazue** : Regardless of if someone modified the trap, you chose to tamper with the crime scene anyway?    
  
**Emi Nakayama** : I panicked, okay!? I didn’t even know Rio was going to be the one who activated the trap. Kenji knows why I chose the third floor to place the snare trap.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : ...The secret door on the third floor.   
  
**Akira Kazue** : There is a secret door on the third floor? Why didn’t you tell anyone this information!?   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : I thought that one of us might be aware of it, and would do something to hide it if I explained it to anyone except for Kenji. We were going to do a stakeout tomorrow to see if anyone used it, but I wanted to hedge my bets, okay?   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : But… Yukiji and Dahlia have alibis. The only person who was out when Rio died was… Rio, did he modify the trap to kill himself and blame you?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma** : We’re getting to the point of insane theories just to prove your girlfriend’s innocence? I thought you had some semblance of decency, Taisei.

**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d** : When she found the body, she altered the crime scene. Cleaning up the blood with a mop, then moving his body through the trash chute from the first floor, to the third floor.    
  
**Kenji Taisei: You’re wrong.** **   
** **   
** **Kenji Taisei Cont’d** : When I was looking at Emi mopping the floor last night, all there was on the ground was the sawdust she used to make your bookshelf, Kiruma.    
  
**Haru Yamada** : If there’s a stain on a hard floor, the water would cause it to spread everywhere. If you lay down a layer of sawdust, it would absorb the stain and she could easily dispose of it in a trash bag. I know this from taking care of dogs at my parent’s kennel.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : And there was a bag of sawdust in the dumpster near the shower…   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : I hid the body, but I still wasn’t the one who killed him, okay!?   
  
_ Timer Starts _ _   
_   
**Kenji Taisei** : We were trying to find the mastermind, and he modified Emi’s trap to kill Rio when he walked by!    
  
**Emi Nakayama** : The mastermind removed two of the screws in the trap, causing the length of the rope to hit the ground and kill Rio when he accidentally triggered it.    
  
**Emi Nakayama Cont’d** : When I saw the body, I got upset and realized that they might think it’s my fault. So I moved the body down the trash chute into the shower room.   
  
**Emi Nakayama Cont’d** : I cleaned the bloodstains with sawdust when Kenji saw me, My trap couldn’t have killed him!   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : I found only three bolts in the dumpster, those were the ones Emi threw down the chute when she saw the accident happen.   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : And I couldn’t find the other two bolts taken out of the trap, who could have possibly taken them! **   
  
**

**Akira Kazue** : She could be lying to you, Kenji! If she just removed the screws and placed them somewhere else, she could pretend that someone else tampered with the trap.    
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d** : She used the idea of a mastermind as a false pretense for murder. She thought if she could cause a death that looked like an accident, she could be acquitted for her crime and escape the school.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Why would she possibly do that!? That would circumvent her whole goal of getting us out of here alive. If she hid the bolts, where could she have hid them!? There’s no fucking way she could have done that!   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d** : Emi is so helpful, kind, and innocent minded. Why would she use that to trick anyone? She even helped SHIRO of all people for god's sake!   
  


**Akira Kazue** : Kenji, open your eyes...

  
**Kenji Taisei** : I don’t believe you. There isn’t any way I would EVER believe you!   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: Young Taisei, I apologize.** **   
** **   
** _ Timer stops at 9:04 _ _   
_ _   
_ **Kenji Taisei** : …   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : I didn’t believe the thing I found in Nakayama’s dorm when I searched it would be relevant… But hearing your argument made me realize something.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : And what the hell would that be!?   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : I was in charge of searching the women’s dorms, and stuffed into Nakayama’s toilet was two bolts that I found.   
  
_ <She opens a palm after taking it out of her pocket, revealing two bolts with nuts wrapped on them.> _ _   
_ _   
_ **Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d** : Ms. Nakyama lied. She knew where she left these bolts the whole time.   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : Wait! Wait wait wait! Those were in my toilet!? I never saw them when I looked! Who the hell put them there!   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Why the hell would I believe you!? You’re such a weirdo, I could believe you possibly being a mastermind. It couldn’t be Emi!

**Akira Kazue** : Kenji, please… this is hard enough for all of us…

**Kenji Taisei** : No! I promised Emi that we would make it out of this! I’m not gonna let you all kill her!   
  
_ The Timer restarts _

**Kenji Taisei** : This is wrong! You can’t do this! I won’t let you! How can you believe Dahlia?!? Emi couldn’t have done it! This isn’t right! This is all a trick! How could you guys be this cruel?!? I don’t want everyone to die here!

_ Kenji’s words seemed to fluctuate in speed, Akira shaking as she braced against his full verbal assault. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Akira Kazue** : The truth is cruel, Kenji! We can’t turn a blind eye to this just because you don’t want to believe it!   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Fuck the truth! This whole game was rigged from the start to make us hate each other! This is what Monokuma wants us to do! Why don’t you understand this!? Emi didn’t commit the murder!   
  
**Akira Kazue** : Monokuma explained the whole rules at the beginning of the trial, Kenji! He said one of us did it, and I’m inclined to believe him.   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : YOU BELIEVE HIM OVER ME!? SHE TOLD ME THE DOOR OPENED AND THE MASTERMIND WENT THROUGH IT!   
  
**Akira Kazue** : Wishful thinking isn’t going to find the Blackened, Kenji! Rio died, there’s nothing we can do about that now!   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : Is that right!? This is a plan by the Mastermind, he wants to take out Emi because she’s the first one to notice the secret doors in the building. The Mastermind wants to frame Emi by him killing Rio! Why else would Rio be on the third floor unless the Mastermind misled him!   
  
**Akira Kazue: THERE IS NO MASTERMIND.** **   
** **   
** _ Timer Stops at 3:21 _ _   
_ _   
_ <Kenji punches his podium.>    
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d** : There isn’t a mastermind, Kenji… Emi did it and is trying to throw you off by pretending someone who isn’t even in the game did it, she might have told you about the door, but have you ever thought that maybe she just lied to get you on her side?   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : …   
  
**Emi Nakayama** : Kenji… Believe in me.   
  
**Akira Kazue** : I can’t… And that’s the truth… And I’ll explain it to you.   
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d: The pieces are all coming together!**

  
“The murder began at roughly 11:00 PM, slightly after our curfew, but before the locks of the dorms opening like Monokuma mentioned. the culprit, who was misleading Kenji by saying they were suspecting that someone was traveling to and from secret panels that they wanted to catch and interrogate whoever was slipping through them, at least that's what they told us. In actuality, I think it was so they could commit a murder while **making it look like the Mastermind committed the murder.**  
  
They made their way upstairs from her dorm room to the **workshop**, where they used their ultimate talent to make the tools for her snare trap. they acquired wire, several small wheels, bolts, and took a box of **wrenches** off the wall, putting them in a box to make a heavy weapon to drop on someone’s head.**  
****  
**They drilled holes in the wall, and attached five wheels to the wall to make a makeshift pulley system that would change the weight of the object enough for someone as small as the culprit to lift it to the shelf. They leaned the box of wrenches against the side of the shelf, meaning any nudge** would cause it to fall off.** They intentionally set up this trap near a wooden panel that they told Kenji could have been a door.   
  
After the trap was set up, the culprit deliberately removed two screws from the pulley system, lengthening the amount of rope and making the wrenches hit the floor. **While we don’t know why **Rio decided to go up to the third floor, I could possibly guess maybe he left something in the library that he needed to get. Sadly, he didn’t have a chance to talk to anybody before his death.

Acting in a hurry, the culprit looped the wire on both ends, tying one around the box of wrenches on the shelf, and the other on the floor. After finishing theri trap, they went back to their bedroom to hide two of the screws in hopes  **it would provide them an alibi later.**

  
Rio, getting his item from the library needed to pass by the workshop to get back to the staircase leading to the second floor dorms, so he had to walk past the snare that the perpetrator set up. **The snare hooked one of his legs,** tripping him forward and making him land on his stomach. The pulleys activated, pulling the wire along the wall to pull the wrench box off the shelf.   
  
The box of wrenches landed on his head, killing him instantly. The box, being made of cardboard fell over from the impact**, leaving wrenches everywhere.** The thump of the box landing could be heard from the second floor, waking some of us, but most of the students were too afraid to step outside, as **Monokuma announced the doors were now unlocked for two hours and didn’t want to be put in danger. ****  
****  
**Our culprit, spotting that their trap worked quickly ran over, terrified that the box of wrenches burst were now on the ground, and the wrenches were soaking in the blood near his completely destroyed head. They knew the sound would wake people up, and had to quickly give themselves an alibi so people would not suspect them. They rushed to the janitors closet, where they found a trash bag and a **mop. **  
  
Conveniently that day, they made a bookcase for Shiro, leaving a bag full of leftover sawdust for them to use. They put his body in the trash bag, but since they were not strong enough to lift him, they dragged his body along the ground, through the blood soaked wrenches and took him to the trash chute, using this as a way to **quickly drop him from the third floor to the first. ****  
****  
**They began to quickly mop up the blood, now coated in the sawdust and easier to hide but they didn’t have time to remove the wrenches from the scene. By the time most of the blood was gone, Yukata and Kenji found the culprit mopping the third floor from the staircase. They told us they tripped and dropped the sawdust, meaning she had to clean it and that if we head upstairs we would slip. **  
****  
**Since the two of them weren’t suspecting a murder happened, they **took the culprit’s word for it, and returned to their rooms, the culprit successfully lied to them.** The culprit rushed downstairs to the bottom of the trash chute. It would be strange if his body was stuffed in a trash bag, so they decided they would have to make it look like an accident.   
  
They **dragged the body to the bathing room, **took his body out of the trash bag and rested him near the center of the room. The culprit grabbed some towels, stuffing the drain of the shower and turned the water on, making the floor wet and making Rio look like he slipped and hit his head on the edge of a bathtub. This had a beneficial effect of causing the blood from the culprit dragging Rio’s body to **mix with the water.**  
  
Despite this, the major problem with the coverup in making Rio look like he **slipped in the shower** was the wound was on the wrong side of his head. The culprit, resigned to the fact they just murdered someone, would have to start hiding the evidence. Heading back up to the third floor, putting the wrenches back in the workshop despite the fact the wrenches were soaked in soap from the mop, and disposing the screws left in the trap down the chute, hoping that the trash would be disposed of before someone found the body.**  
****  
**They wringed the mop of its blood, putting it back where it belonged before disassembling their trap, putting the parts they didn’t use back in the workshop, including the **looped wire, one of the only ways we figured out that the culprit used a trap.****  
****  
**After this, the culprit finally went back to bed. Before Monokuma announced that was 7 AM, Hana, Miho and Setsuki shower together at 5 AM, finding Rio’s body in a small pool of water and blood in the middle of the room. Panicking, they ran up the stairs, hitting all the doors and waking us up to discover the body together.   
  
We suspected that the murder happened roughly at 5 PM, but it actually happened the **night before. ****  
****  
**And that’s how Rio’s murder happened. Isn’t that right, **ULTIMATE CARPENTER EMI NAKAYAMA?”****  
  
**

**Emi Nakayama** : …   
  
**Monokuma** : Well, that was super interesting! Nicely detailed closing argument, Ms. Ultimate Police Cadet!   
  
**Kenji Taisei** : God damn it… This can’t be happening.   
  
**Airi Kudo** : I can’t argue with Akira… That was pretty extensive, considering all the information we currently have.

**Bam Takahashi** : A conclusive finish to this first class trial! The Blackened was discovered by Ultimate Police Cadet, Akira Kazue!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : How unfortunate for you, young Taisei. Your attempts to be Nakayama’s shining knight have exposed her… Blackened heart. O~hohohoho!

**Kenji Taisei** : Sh-shut up… this is bullshit… you’re all…

**Yukata Watanabe** : Kenji, it’s over, man. Sorry, but I think that Emi…

**Kenji Taisei** : Not you too, Yukata! Has everyone gone crazy?!? Emi wouldn’t-

**Shiro Kiruma** : Taisei, this foolish crusade has to end. The trial has reached a conclusion and if you refuse to see reason and vote for Nakayama, you will die along with her.

**Kenji Taisei** : We’ll all die if we vote for Emi because she isn’t the Blackened. The Mastermind-

**Miho Ishii** : Kenji, there isn’t a Mastermind. There’s no evidence that anyone besides Monokuma is running things.

**Monokuma** : Yup! In fact, since you guys have done so well so far, I can give you a little secret! If there is a Mastermind, they are not in this courtroom.

**Kenji Taisei** : There! You see?!? Monokuma admits it! There is a Mastermind! We have to-

**Akira Kazue** : Kenji, you’re clutching at straws now. I don’t like it any more than you do, but Emi killed Rio. The trial’s over.

**Kenji Taisei** : But-

**Emi Nakayama** : No… it’s okay, Kenji.

**Kenji Taisei** : Eh?!? Emi?

**Emi Nakayama** : I don’t believe what they’re saying… But if it means the rest of you can live to find the Mastermind… I guess this is fine. Kenji… you’re a good person. I believe you can make it out of here. The trap was a bad idea, I’m sorry for failing you guys.    
  
_ <Emi starts crying.> _

**Kenji Taisei** : E-Emi… don’t-

**Emi Nakayama** : Kenji, just promise you won’t forget me, okay?

**Kenji Taisei** : Why do you have to die!?   
  
**Monokuma** : Despair! That’s why. The very definition of despair is that moment you spend hours upon hours getting your hopes up, expecting something good to happen, followed by a sudden, perilous fall into a void of disappointment. The fact you got so hopeful, Kenji, is the very same reason you feel this way. Welcome to emptiness, Kenji Taisei!

**Emi Nakayama** : Kenji. Promise me that-

**Kenji Taisei** : I promise, Emi. I won’t forget you...   
  
**Monokuma** : <Cutesy> Awww, how sappy~ Just makes you want to puke your guts out~ And with that out of the way… It’s voting time!

_The button for stopping debates sunk into the podium, replaced by a grid of boxes with each student’s faces on it. Only Rio’s face was greyed out. Kenji watched as everyone pressed a button on the screen, taking in a deep breath. He pressed on Shiro’s face, praying for the others to have faith in Emi like he had._ _He looked to Emi, who was shaking in her podium, tears streaming down her face as she held onto herself. Kenji felt the sting of tears in his eyes, reaching for Emi when a sudden jingling rang out in everyone’s ears._

_ Kenji turned to see giant golden slot machine spinning the same images of their faces from the voting screen. The first slot landed on Emi. He shook his head. It was a mistake The other two had to be Shiro. It would meant that the majority voted for him. Then the second face came up Emi again. His heart sank but he still held out hope that enough people were with him. Shiro was the culprit, it was all a mistake. Shiro was- _

_ The last slot landed on Emi. _

_ Monokuma began to laugh, both him and the visage on the slot machine. A slot opened up for all the students except for Kenji, Monocoins shooting out of each one. Kenji’s heart sank to a black pit that made him silent as Monokuma spoke  _ _   
_ _   
_ **Monokuma** : Congrats guys, you did it! Emi Nakayama was the culprit in the murder of Rio Daisuke! Here’s the nitty gritty about how all you voted!   
  
_ He pointed to the screen beside him, showing the tallied results of the vote. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Emi Nakayama: 13 _ _   
_ _ Shiro Kiruma: 1 _ _   
_ _   
_ **Monokuma** : Awww, looks like you know who chose not to vote for Emi!  _ <Cutesy> _ D’awww how schweeet~ too bad! He ain't getting any damn Monocoins for voting wrong!   
  


**Shiro Kiruma** : Hmph, that’s immature and spiteful, Taisei.

**Yukata Watanabe** : Kenji…

**Haru Yamada** : Sorry, man. Akira’s argument made sense.   
  
****

**Hana Okamoto** : Sorry, Kenji...

**Monokuma** : Now then, since you all built a perfect case against her… the blackened, Emi Nakayama, shall receive her punishment!

_ The students all went silent as Monokuma cackled manically. _

**Monokuma** : Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Emi Nakayama, the Ultimate Carpenter! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! IT’S PUNISHMENT TIIIME!

_ A large red button appeared in front of Monokuma, who then struck it with a gavel. The screen changed to show a new message. _

**GAME OVER. Emi has been found guilty. It’s time for the punishment!**   
  
****

**Emi Nakayama** : Kenji… I’m glad we got to be friends, even if it was for a few days. Please… stay safe.   
  
_ A collar attached to a chain snapped on Emi’s neck, preparing to drag her way. Kenji briefly snapped out of his stupor, reaching out for Emi only to be grabbed by Shiro and pulled back. _


	10. The First Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are consequences to your actions.

Punishment #1: Helter Skelter Shelter   
  
Emi gasped as the collar wrapped around her neck, choking her as Kenji jumped off his podium to attempt to run over to her. Shiro grabbed firmly on his wrist, making him struggle to get away from him. “Taisei, get ahold of yourself!” Shiro demanded, but Kenji just kicked him in the knee, getting him away from him as he ran around the podium to Emi. There was a large thunk sound, as the room began to open up like it were on a hinge.   
  
“Emi!” Kenji shouted, running toward her and reaching out his hand. Emi reached out hers, but just before they touched, a winch pulled the chain around her neck, dragging her along the floor to a pair of Monokumas waiting for her.   
  
“KENJI!!!” Emi shrieked as she felt her fingernails began to tear on the concrete floor from trying too hard to grab the ground, blood trails on every one of her fingers as the Monokumas strapped her to a large table, and began to build a house, buckles on her arms and legs snapped, wrapping around her limbs and pinning her to the table she was on, as each Monokuma began to slowly build a house together.   
  
They started with the frame of the house, nailing 2x4’s with a hammer and a nail gun. Music began to play over a speaker so loud Kenji couldn’t hear his voice, but he tried to run toward Emi anyway until another hand gripped him by the wrist.    
  
“Kenji, don’t be stupid!” Miho demanded, putting him in a hammerlock and wrapping an arm around his neck to keep him from fighting her. Kenji thrashed, but she was stronger than him, and he couldn’t move.    
  
The Monokumas built a foundation to the house, placing the frame on it before cutting flat pieces of plywood to cover the house in panels, along with cutting windows out of the walls and putting frames on them. They ran around the house a few times, putting up siding and insulation, then put in the windows.   
  
Then they put on the roof, stapling on shingles at an extremely quick speed, leaving just the doors left. They put in the door frame, and went over to inspect Emi quickly. The table she was laying on was actually a door, it seemed. A double door, but the problem was they were stuck together.    
  
The music kept getting louder, it felt like Kenji’s ears were starting to bleed as the music began to speed up and go more and more off pitch. The Monokumas grabbed a nailgun, shooting nails into each one of Emi’s fingers with a shriek and a splatter of blood on the hardwood door, pinning both her hands to the door, with one thicker nail being hammered into each of her palms.    
  
Kenji could barely tell the screams from the music, but blood was leaking onto the doors and dripping on the floor underneath them.    
  
A Monokuma wearing a hard hat hit a button on a remote he was holding, and a large sawblade popped up from the table, spinning and adding a painfully high pitched noise to the cacophony, the edge of the saw sliced through the mahogany door like butter, as Emi craned her neck up, tears streaming down her face as she mouthed some words Kenji couldn’t hear over all the noise.    
  
The two Monokumas began to push the door along the saw, the blade sliding up between her legs and beginning to cut her flesh with a guttural chugging sound. Blood geysered up and away from her as the saw began to sever her body tail to tip straight down the middle. The speed of the blade launched blood to the ceiling, before raining down on her and the house. Her screams were the loudest, most painful ones Kenji has ever heard.   
  
Then it stopped, her body gave out, and she began to die, but the Monokuma’s kept cutting. Her entrails, viscera and blood began to fly onto the house in chunks as it severed her torso, ribcage and eventually sliced into her neck, cutting her head in two as the cutting finally stopped.    
  
The walls of the home were coated in blood, the floor was caked in gore and broken bones and the two Monokumas lifted each side of the door Emi’s corpse was pinned down, attaching the hinges and slowly closing the doors, pushing the two halves of Emi back together.   
  
Then the music stopped.   
  
And in its place came more screams. Cries of pain and horror rung out through the courtroom. Kenji was thrashing in Miho’s hammerlock, which had been weakened from the panic of what she had just witnessed. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!!! EMI!!!” Kenji shouted, wet with tears as he broke free, looking back at Miho who was looking away with a grey and dead expression on her face. She didn’t want to look again.

Kenji kept running, entering the hall that lead to the execution chamber. He ran faster and faster, he had to get to the house. He had to save her. He had to- *WHAM!*

Without warning, a pair of massive steel doors slammed shut, sending the hall into darkness. Kenji felt a sudden and violent tightness around his neck. He reached for his neck, feeling cold metal on his fingers when he was yanked away. “No no no no NOOOOO!!!” Kenji wailed as the winch dragged him from the hall, forcing him back into the courtroom and hitting his podium hard.

“And what do you think you’re doing, Mister?!? Think you’re going to be the big hero, huh?!? Think you’ll save the damsel in distress from the scary monster?!? Well guess what, Jack! There are no heroes in the real world. Everyone’s a loser! Everyone has no real purpose except for the crap they make up to make them feel better at night. If you think you can do better, graduate from the University and PROVE IT, jackass!” Monokuma said, claws outstretched.

“Bring her back! Bring her back, you sick bastard!” Kenji screamed, voice hoarse and cracking.

“Bring her back? Bring her- boy, you really hit your stride, didn’t you Kenji? Guess what. It’s alllll downhill from here, so you better get used to the death, disorder and despair because I can’t keep having you ruin my executions! Emi’s guilty, so she’s dead. That’s all there is to it!” Monokuma shot back, Kenji still struggling against the collar on his neck.

“Damn it! Fuck you! You’re just protecting the Mastermind! This is all rigged!” he wailed out, choking as the collar tightened around him.

“Keep it up, kiddo! I can keep you here all day if I like. Do you know what it’s like to have all the cards in your hand? I do, and you never will. So you being a brat is just thrashing at nothing, understood?” Monokuma asked, getting up close to Kenji, red eye glowing bright.

“Hey! Bearshit! You let him go!” came a voice from the crowd.

“Haaaah? Who thinks they can boss around me, the Great Monoku-” he began before seeing a nailed bat fly towards him, dodging quickly. “Ah, ah, ah! I’d like to remind you that according to Enoshima University Regul-” this time he wasn’t given time to rattle off his rules as Reiko had the bat right under his nose.

“Are you fucking deaf? I said let Kenji go! NOW!” Reiko shouted, Monokuma growling at her only to see that quite a few students were standing with her. Akira went over to Kenji’s side, trying to calm him down.

“Now, you gonna let Kenji go or are we gonna have to cave your fuckin’ head in?” Reiko demanded, Monokuma backing away slightly.

“Oh, all right! Sheesh! Ruin my fun!” Monokuma grumbled as he walked off. The collar soon came off.

“Kenji…” Akira said, only for Kenji to push her aside and run right for Monokuma.

“You bastard!” Kenji shouted before once again, Shiro grabbed his wrist.

“Taisei. There’s nothing we can do from this point on. Emi’s gone, this ordeal is over for the time being. Let’s just go back to the University.” Shiro spoke with a stern, but even tone as Kenji looked back at him, glaring. He readied a fist, about to punch Shiro, but Shiro was ready and caught his fist. “Really now? Is that all you can do, Taisei? Yell, scream, strike me all you want, but death is death, you can’t have your way and your tantrums are becoming irritating.” he said coldly, tossing him to the floor and heading to the elevator. “Let’s go.” he said, adjusting his glasses.

Kenji began to break down and cry, punching the floor with his fist as Akira softly approached him, gently gripping him on the shoulder in an attempt to pull him back up to his feet.   
  
“L-let’s go, Kenji. Maybe you should just go to bed and let it out in your room…” She asked, but Kenji seemed like he couldn't respond to her. Or wouldn’t.   
  
“Ya can’t make him go, Akira.” Miho said, walking up beside her and lightly placing a palm on Akira’s shoulder. “He has to choose when to go back.” She added, but Akira just clutched her gloved fists hard and sighed.    
  
“I just… I want to help him, I don’t know how, and it’s frustrating...” Akira said, Miho giving her shoulder a tug.

“C’mon. We should get going.” Miho said, pulling her toward the elevator. Slowly, everyone made their way to the elevator, Kenji watching with a blank stare, face soaked with tears. Thirteen students stood on the elevator, the click of lights turning off went down the hallway and into the class trial courtroom, leaving Kenji alone in the darkness, as Monokuma got on the elevator with the other students as well

“We’re… we’re not just gonna leave him here, are we?” Yukata asked, concern thick in his voice.

“I’ll lower the elevator again once we get to the top. Kenji will leave when he decides to adult for a while.” Monokuma replied to Yukata’s question. Soon came the ding of the elevator, lifting off. Setsuki, face buried in her hood, waved to Kenji as the elevator ascended. Kenji simply stood in the darkness, staring at the light of the elevator before letting out an anguished scream.

Dinner that evening was still and silent, with only the occasional clink of silverware punctuating the void. Even Bam seemed to be at a loss for words. Monokuma popped up. “Good evening, students! I forgot something! As we have had a successful class trial, the unlocked doors rule has been lifted! Your doors will be locked again and you will be safe.. Ish. Kinda.” he announced to no response. “And with that said, Shiro, I will be needing my Monopad back!” he said, Shiro standing up and walking over to Monokuma, handing him the pink Monopad. Monokuma then vanished.

“Any sign of him yet, Akami?” Akira asked.

“No… do you think we should go down and check on him? I don’t want to be morbid, but in his current state, he might’ve-” he said, Akira holding a hand up.

“No. He’s not dead. I can still see him on my Monopad. But I agree with your concerns. I’ve been worried about that too. Especially as we’re coming up on nighttime. There’s nine hours where we’ll all be asleep and Kenji could kill himself.” Akira said, sighing heavily.   
  
Akami crossed his arms underneath his chest, looking at the floor. “If we have to have another class trial after… that on the very same day. I’m going to freak. I’m exhausted, and I was barely involved in it.” he said, paling.

“Yeah…” Akira said, gripping her fork tightly, hand quivering.

“Kenji’s up.” Yukiji said, pointing to the doors. Through the clear glass of the door, they saw Kenji walk by, heading for the stairs without a glance toward his classmates.

“He still looks horrible… God, I feel awful.” Akira said, pushing her food away.

“It… it wasn’t your fault, Akira. Emi killed Rio, right?” Yukiji said.

“Y-yeah… but he believed in her. Kenji’s not that foolish to believe anyone he hears… But Emi either lied, or this school started to take its toll on her sanity… and then… oh God...” Akira said, covering her ears as the screams rung out in her head. Miho sat next to Akira, rubbing her back.

“It’s okay, Akira. Emi’s, Emi’s in a better place now.” she said reassuringly.

“I hope so, Miho. She deserves that, at least.” Akira said, getting up. As she walked off, Monokuma cleared his throat.

“Oh yeah! Before you go, I have a special announcement planned for tomorrow morning! So be here for breakfast! If any of you see Kenji, pass the word to him!” Monokuma said, vanishing again.

“I fuckin’ hate that bear…” Reiko said. No one else spoke, but it was clear that everyone agreed with her in this moment. Akira left the kitchen, heading up to the second floor. As she got to her dorm, she stopped. At the far end of the hall was Kenji’s dorm. She walked down, knocking on the door.

“Kenji…?” she asked, getting no answer. “Kenji, it’s Akira…” she said, still no response.

“Monokuma said he has a special announcement for tomorrow morning….” she explained. Silence. “Kenji, I can’t tell you how sorry I am… I-I know that you and Emi were close, but- I-I just… all the evidence told me that she did it. But… but you can’t give up yet. We’re still here and we’re gonna get out of here. We’re gonna beat Monokuma. We have to beat Monokuma. For Rio and Emi’s sake.”

Still nothing, Akira sighed. She probably would’ve gotten a better response from the door.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” came a voice to her side. She turned around to see Yukata standing there, pillow and bed sheet tucked under his arm.. “I overheard you and Akami… not hard when no else is talking. I’ll stay with him and make sure he sleeps.” he offered.

“Thanks Yukata. Don’t know why I bothered. He probably still hates me…” Akira said, head hung low.

“I don’t think he hates you. He may not want to talk to you for a while, but he doesn’t hate you.” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Give him time. He’s just taking this hard. We all are, ya know?”

“Yeah, I guess… thanks again, Yukata. I’m gonna go to bed.” Akira replied, trying to force a smile as she left. Yukata gave a weak smile back, turning to Kenji’s door and knocking.

“Kenji. It’s Yukata. Open up, man. I’m rooming with you tonight.” Yukata said.

“...There’s only one bed.” Kenji muttered back.

“I can sleep on the floor. I know you’re in a bad way right now, buddy. That’s why I wanna be there for you.” Yukata said, waiting for a response. After a moment of silence, the door opened. Kenji looked better than Yukata had last seen him, but his eyes were glazed over, and his skin was pale.

“Come in. You’d probably just sleep outside if I said no, right?” Kenji asked.

“Yep.” Yukata replied, stepping into the room. Kenji hit the bed, lying down while Yukata picked out a spot to sleep on. He set down the pillow and laid out the bedsheet. “Goodnight, Kenji.” he said as he tucked himself under the sheet. Kenji simply grunted, staring up at the ceiling. It took a few hours of silence, but Kenji did fall asleep.   
  
  
  
**CHAPTER 1 COMPLETE**


	11. Chapter 2, Daily Life 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well now two people are dead. 
> 
> Damn.

Chapter 2: Together We Are, and Alone We Will Be. (Daily Life 1) _   
_ _   
_ _ Ding dong, Bing bong. _ _   
_ __   
“Gooooooooood morning, students! Isn’t this another beautiful day at my University? Remember, there’s going to be a special announcement in the dining room!” Monokuma said on the monitor, waking Kenji with an exhausted look on his face. The sleep hadn’t helped. He still felt empty. Kenji sighed and swung his legs around, getting up only to trip and fall within seconds.

“Wah! Wh-what the?!?” he exclaimed as he crashed onto Yukata, waking him up.

“Ack!”

“Shit! Sorry, Yukata! I forgot you were here!” Kenji said as the two tried to disentangle from each other. They soon got up, Yukata putting a hand on his shoulder and stretching it.

“Morning, Kenji. I’ll meet up with you at breakfast.” Yukata said with a tired smile, leaving the dorm to get changed. Kenji changed into his usual clothes, refusing to so much as look at the Monokuma clothes as he got dressed and left his dorm. He made his way down to the Dining Hall, sitting with Haru and Yukata. Kiko walked across the table to Kenji, nuzzling up against him.

“Hey Kiko…” Kenji said, petting the small dog with a weak smile. Kiko let out a happy bark.

“Mornin’ Kenji. Feelin’ better?” Haru asked, Kenji letting out a distressed sigh.

“Not really, no. I didn’t sleep all that well. I don’t even feel sad or angry anymore. Just… nothing.” he admitted, stroking Kiko’s fur.

“Hey, if you want, we can play some cards after Monokuma’s announcement.” Yukata offered, Kenji letting out a groan. He had forgotten all about Monokuma’s special morning announcement. “Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it either, but maybe it’ll just be something stupid like he’s added pizza to the lunch menu.” he said, getting a low chuckle from Kenji.

“Guess so... “ Kenji said, looking around to see everyone was there. Shiro was sat at his own table with face buried in a book. Bam, Setsuki and Hana were chatting together, Bam seeming to find his voice again. Reiko was alone, which suited her just fine as she tapped her bat against her shoulder, waiting for Monokuma. Dahlia was painting her fingernails with crimson red paint, somehow not smudging as she had one eye on Yukiji.

Yukiji was sat at Akira’s table with her, Akami and Miho. Finally, Airi was coming in, drawing no attention as she found herself an empty table. As if on cue Monokuma suddenly appeared, bringing up a podium with him.

“Goooood morning, students! I know things are still… tense, after what happened the night before, so I’m going to be giving you folks a  _ lighter touch _ for a while before the next motive shows itself.” He said, gesturing a light poking of the air for emphasis on ‘lighter touch.’ They reacted with silence as he held both arms behind his back.   
  
“I came to announce that the school grounds you are allowed to wander has expanded! You will now be able to go to the campus outside of the building! You will also have access to your old labs, and the college the-AY-ter!” He said, pulling a beret behind his back and placing it on his head.    
  
“Other buildings are still off limits though, fair warning.”   
  
“...What do you mean by our -old- labs, exactly?” Airi asked, her arms folded across her chest.

“Welll, I haven’t been 100% upfront with you. See, you all probably still think you’re first year students of Enoshima University. But, this is in fact… YOUR SECOND YEAR! CONGRATULATIONS!” Monokuma announced, streamers popping behind him.

“...Wait, a year? We’ve been here a year?!? But, why don’t I remember being here?!?” Kenji said, shocked as everyone else was at the revelation.

“Well, if it were just you, I’d assume that was simple brain damage. But for sixteen, now fourteen. students it can’t be so easy to wave off. The long n’ short of it is… Ya got your memories wiped.” He said, covering his mouth to stifle a giggle.   
  
“W-what!? Why would you wipe our memories!?” Kenji shouted, anger billowing in his heart, but Monokuma just tilted his head.    
  
“Hm? Oh. You asked for me to do it.” He dropped almost casually, but that just made Kenji confused and upset, so Yukata spoke up.   
  
“We did… Why? Why would we ever ask for that?” He asked, still stretching his shoulder.    
  
“Hey hey hey, we’re only one case in to this Killing Game, I’ll explain everything to you as it becomes relevant. But until then? No spoiler questions!” He said, pretending to make a shush noise in front of his lips, and a collective groan from his audience.   
  
“Regardless, the point is the labs you’ve all made are in the exact order you left them, they should fit your interests nicely! Go check them out, they’re neat. I’ll be minding my own business, so don’t worry, kay?” He said, spinning in place before heading for the door. “Ooooh, and don’t forget the theater, it’s my favorite part.” He said, peeking his head through the door before closing it and leaving the students alone for once.

Breakfast passed quietly, the students all heading off for the campus entrance. Kenji stopped by the MonoMono Machine, putting in five Monocoins and getting a model plane, strangely. He was starved for coins after the results of the trial. He’d see about trading the plane later for some spare coins. The doors opened up, allowing the students to breathe in fresh air for once. The actual campus grounds were beautifully cut grass, several Monokumas on riding mowers working to make the ground even. One Monokuma with a wig of wild black hair with a blonde streak laughed maniacally as he rode his mower, the students staring in confusion as it passed.   
  
The feeling of an actual sun hitting them on the face, the fresh smell of cut grass just after the sprinklers turned on, and a breeze in Kenji’s hair brought some life back to him after being inside that cruel building for at least a week. Setsuki cheered, running down the stairs, hopping onto the rail and landing onto the grass, rolling around like a dog.   
  
“NATURE! YOU HAVE COME BACK TO MEEEEEEE!” She said, voice cracking in joy as Kiko arfed, running after her and joining her in rolling in the grass on her back, Haru started giving a hearty chuckle at that.    
  
“Didn’t think I’d miss outside so much.” Yukata said, stretching his neck and walking along the cobblestone path to the center where a pompously posed Monokuma was squirting water out of his mouth in the form of a marble statue. “...Wonder who builds all these?” He asked himself, before seeing engraved words on the statue.   
  
_ Flip a monocoin into the fountain for the potential of a reward! You don’t know til you try. <3 _ _   
_ _ \- Monokuma _

Yukata shrugged, pulling out a Monocoin and flipping it into the fountain. The splash of water was followed by a small rumble. The rumbling stopped and the Monokuma statue opened its mouth, shooting out a small bag of gummy worms into the fountain. The statue let out a laugh before shutting its mouth. “...Huh.” he said, reaching into the fountain to claim his prize, which were soaked from the water, but still good in the plastic wrap.    
  
“..It just gives you gummies?” Yukata muttered out, confused. He stuffed the gummies in his outer jacket pocket and kept walking down the path. The students kept walking down the cobblestone path, Dahlia suddenly peeling off and running for the shade of a large oak tree. Akira stopped, spotting this and walking over to her.

“What’s up, Dahlia?” she asked. Dahlia hyperventilated a bit before regaining her composure.

“Ah… the accursed sun was bearing down upon for me too long! A vampire of such a pure bloodline such as I may be resistant to the sun for what could be a few minutes, but my power has diminished! I require a parasol!” Dahlia said, Akira looking at her in confusion.

“...What?” she asked.

“A parasol! To guard me against the sun! I could feel the warmth within me! Any longer and my body would smoke up, my veins would boil and my flesh will turn to ash!” Dahlia shrieked.

“Well… there aren’t really any parasols on the school grounds…”

“Then bring me some form of protection! I cannot stay under this shade all day!” Dahlia said with a grimace, Akira having to think quickly.

“Hey! Yukata!” she shouted, calling him over to the tree.

“...She better not eat my gummies.” Yukata grumbled as they rejoined the group, Dahlia wrapped tightly around his duster with a cheerful smile.

“Fear not, young Watanabe. I owe you a debt of eternal gratitude for offering your duster. A vampire will always return the favor of a boon!”   
  


“Just… Make sure I get that back.” Yukata said, annoyed at having only one coat on. Akira sighed and shook her head, glad just to have the group moving again.

“Nice work, Akira. I would’ve probably left her there…” said a voice coming up to her. Akira turned to see Airi.

“Uh… thanks, Airi! I uhh... I like making sure things don’t get too… complicated.” Akira said.

“Wait… did Airi just compliment you?” Yukata asked, Airi rolling her eyes.

“I’m not entirely without emotions, ya know. I just don’t like being around people. It’s probably better that way. Not getting too attached.” Airi said, hands in her pockets. “Akira showed her competency yesterday at the trial, so she deserves some recognition for it. She solved the case.”

“Yeah…” Akira said, looking down at the ground.

“You still feel guilty about what happened to Emi,” Airi said with certainty.

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? It makes me wish I wasn’t right.” Akira asked.

“The reason why we’re alive is because you were right, Akira. You saved 13 other people, don’t forget that.” Airi said, Akira looking up.

“Yeah, that’s true… still sucks, though,” she said.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. And if Monokuma’s little mind games keep working, it’s probably gonna get worse. But we can’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he’s hurting us. We gotta keep our heads up if we wanna make it out of here.” Airi said with a small smile, Akira smiling back.

“Thanks, Airi. I needed that,” she said, the group stopping at a split in the path, divided by signs. To the left was marked  **LABS** and to the right was  **MONOKUMA THEATER. ** There were other paths, but the entrances were blocked off with little Monokumas in construction hats.    
  
“Is that the the-ay-ter?” Hana asked, mimicking how Monokuma said it earlier.    
  
“...It’s theater.” Shiro said, annoyed.

“I know that! I was… uhh... Saying it funny on purpose.” She said, clearly lying about the fact she’s never been to a theater in her life. She stuck her tongue out at Shiro, who simply ignored her.

“So, where should we go first?” Yukiji asked. Many of the students had the same answer, they wanted to see the labs, mostly to see what they looked like, though some were curious if anything that would make them remember their lost year would be in the labs. So the students went left, following the cobblestone to the labs. The path would lead them to a large white and black two-floor building with a sign in front of it labeled  **Enoshima University Student Research & Development Labs**

They stepped up to the building, seeing a small plastic table with two Monopads and sixteen small black plastic cards with the Enoshima University crest. “Ahhh, of course, you chose the labs first! Really breaks my heart to see you kids have no appreciation for the arts!” Monokuma exclaimed as he appeared at the entrance door of the lab, miming crying.

“We’ll investigate the Monokuma Theater in time, but I assume it’s nothing more than a simple amphitheater. We’re far more interested in the labs.” Shiro said bluntly.

“Fiiine, I can’t stop you, so I’ll just tell you to pick up your keycard! It’s the only way to get into your lab!” Monokuma explained before vanishing. Everyone gathered around the table, grabbing their keycards and entering in single file, at Akira’s request, into the main building. On each side were four doors, meaning that there eight labs on the floor.

“The other labs must be on the second floor,” Airi observed. “Eight on each floor, four on each side, Sixteen total.”

“So, where do we start?” Kenji asked. The group looked at each door, marked with nameplates like the dorm room doors. Yukiji pulled out his card, scanning it to open it. Inside was a windowless sheer white room, sterile in detail with a single table in the center, two chairs tucked in across each other. On the table was a chessboard and timer, a vending machine sat in the corner stocked with KitKats and bottles of cold milk.

“...I like it.” Yukiji said with a huge smile.The other students, while stunned at how empty the lab was, were happy to see Yukiji’s joy. It meant there was a chance their labs would be equally suited for them. Yukiji headed in, taking a seat at the table and practicing strategies. The rest of the students went down the left hall, stopping at each lab.

Next was Miho’s lab, which resembled a gym with a wrestling ring in the center, mats on the floor around it. There were doors that were marked as “Shower” and “Locker Room” at the far end. “Awww yeah! Now I can fall off stuff without looking like a crazy person!” Miho shouted ecstatically, running for the ring, leaping through the top and second rope with ease and landing with a roll onto a single knee, pointing to the lights over the ring, like she almost rehearsed that move many times.

Next was Kenji’s lab. “This is your lab, Taisei? It looks like a dump.” Shiro said, and as much as Kenji didn’t want to hear anything from Shiro, he couldn’t disagree with the assessment. The lab was a hodgepodge of various items, almost like Kenji used the room to just put away stuff he wasn’t using at the time. There was a garden hoe, bags of plant soil, a chemistry set, and other random knick-knacks on the floor and walls, the room wasn't even painted. It felt more like a warehouse or a storage shed than a lab.

“W-what happened to mine!?” Kenji asked, but Monokuma popped behind him to quickly answer.

“You were never the type to… be alone, obviously! You spent your time with others. Since you’re the Ultimate Volunteer, it’s obvious it would be this hodgepodge. Puhuhuhu~” Monokuma said, giggling as he disappeared again. Kenji sighed in annoyance.

“Well, guess I won’t be staying at my lab,” Kenji said before heading off for the fourth lab along the left hall. This one was Yukata’s, which he opened up to find it resembled a card game shop with displays for several decks and tables with playing mats laid out.

“Oh man! There are so many deck types!” Yukata said, running in and opening displays to look over each deck. “Everyone’s getting a deck on me!” he said, waving decks in his hands. Kenji laughed, giving Yukata a thumbs up.

“I’ll play ya after we’ve checked all the labs!” he said, Yukata shooting back a thumbs-up of his own. The group, now with three fewer students, made their way to the right hall. First was Shiro’s lab, looking like a smaller version of the library, with shelves of books lining the walls. One section had been left untouched by books; inside was a finely polished mahogany desk with a globe on one side and a small reading lamp on the other. Shiro stepped in, smiling as he breathed in.

“Hmm, there’s even a slight fragrance of peppermint to the room. Yes, this certainly is my lab.” Shiro said, unaware of Kenji walking in until he spotted him looking over one of the bookshelves. “And what do you think you’re doing, Taisei?” he asked, sneering.

“There’s something familiar about these bookshelves…” Kenji said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“It’s possible that Emi had built them last year. The desk looks to be imported, however.” Shiro noted. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would prefer my lab remain private,” he said, Kenji getting up and walking out. “I will be in my lab if anyone needs me. Please, don’t need me.” Shiro said as he shut the lab door. Kenji took that as a good sign. Shiro having his own private place to read meant they might be able to get the library back.

Next was Akami’s lab, opening up found what looked more like a professional boutique. There was a single chair next to a makeup table with a wall of mirrors, bright lights, and a music system nearby. Akami put a hand to his chest in shock. “It’s like Heaven…” he said silently.

“You gonna head in?” Akira asked, Akami shaking his head.

“No, not until I absolutely need it. Without anyone to perform my art in that chair, it’s just brushes and powder. I’ll need a canvas, but I assume that will come in time.” Akami said, getting a nod from Akira.

“Then I guess we go to the next lab,” she said, leading them down the hall and stopping at Emi’s lab. “Huh… well, I guess we can’t go in since none of us grabbed her keycard.” Akira said until she saw Kenji place a card on the scanner.

“I grabbed it off the table while everyone was getting theirs. I also snagged Rio’s key,” he explained, reaching for the doorknob when Akira stopped him, grabbing his hand.

“Hang on, Kenji. Maybe we should save those for last. We still got a lot of labs to look through and no one’s going to claim labs from someone not here with us.” she said, Kenji looking at her and nodding.

“Good point, we’ll come back to it later,” Kenji said, heading up the stairs to the second floor They continued as they did before, starting at the left hall with Akira’s lab. It was the opposite of Kenji’s in every way, a meticulously organized room with full filing cabinets, a little holding cell in the corner, a computer sat on the desk and handcuffs nailed to the wall. Finishing off the room was a small coffee machine on the counter.

“Oh my God, coffee!” Akira said, running over and hugging the coffee machine as if it were a long-lost lover. “I missed you, coffee! You’re the only partner I need~” she squealed in joy. Everyone stared at her in bewilderment before slowly backing away.   
  
**Akira Kazue. Ultimate Caffeine Addict.**

The group headed to Dahlia’s ‘lab’ which they at first confused for a medieval dungeon. It was oppressively dark within, a single table draped in a dark red tablecloth with black spiderweb patterns on the fringes sat in the center with a chandelier looming over it. Kenji tried the switch, only getting a dim light which made it easier to see but kept the room in darkness. There was a bookshelf with books bound in black leather, chains hanging from the walls surrounding a large ebony wood coffin, inside of which was a mattress covered in red sheets with a bat-shaped pillow.

“O~hohohoho! This room has haunted my nightmares for so long and now I truly understand why! It has been calling for me to return to my domain! My eternity is meant to be spent here!” Dahlia squealed in delight, spinning around the room and swooning. “Ahh~ Young Taisei, catch me before I faint!” she said as she began to fall back, Kenji quickly catching her before she hit the floor.

“Ohhhh~ I have not felt bliss such as this in decades…” Dahlia said as she stood herself up and walked over to the coffin, climbing in and reaching for the lid. “Please, leave me to my torpor. I must rest to recharge after my horrible experience with the sun.” she requested, shutting the lid over her, an obscene amount of dust flying off the coffin as it closed.

“I swear, she just keeps getting weirder...” Kenji said as they walked off. They stopped at Airi’s lab, Airi rushing in and shutting the lab door before anyone could see anything inside. Kenji looked at the others, who simply shrugged.

“Eh, it probably wouldn’t be much better than yours, Kenji. I mean, what are you gonna put in the lab of the Ultimate Lucky Student? Four-leaf clovers and horseshoes?” Hana joked as they walked up to her lab next. Inside it looked like half of a basketball court, showing the center, the 3 point zone and the hoop with a fully stocked rack of basketballs on one side and a cheap wooden TABLE with a microphone on the other. “HELL YEH! TIME FOR UPS! C'mon, Bam!” she shouted as she rushed into the court with Bam following after her.

“Well, guess we won’t need to visit Bam’s lab,” Haru said as they went to the right hall. Setsuki unlocked her lab, which looked more like an indoor skate park with plenty of rails and ramps, skateboards, scooters, pads and helmets. 

“Whoo! This is so hype!” she said, throwing down her board and shredding to her heart’s content, until she tried to throw her board in the air, and land on it before she hit the ground, hitting her face and sliding on the ground. “The best part about falling down is GETTING BACK UP!” she shouted, getting back to her feet and skating some more. They left her to her skating, passing by Bam’s lab to Haru’s.

On the floor was a small ramp up to a series of tunnels, jumps, fences, a little doggy bed, and a complete obstacle course for Kiko to stay fit while trapped in this school. Pictures of dogs were painted on the side of the wall, which was painted to mimic the sky. Though the room smelled like stale dog food. Kiko ran straight in, running the course with her little doggy legs, Haru chuckling.

“Welp! Looks like Kiko loves it already! I’ll see you guys later!” Haru said, heading into the lab. The last lab on the floor was Reiko’s. Inside was something like a motorcycle shop with a half-finished bike, wrenches, and screwdrivers on the counter, a rack of different weapons and fridge.

“Oh, fuck YES!” Reiko said, glee breaking through her rough demeanor as she opened up the fridge. “Kenji, just you fuckin’ wait until I get one of these bikes running. We’ll jump off a ramp to the goddamn moon,” she stated, pulling out a can of root beer and began to chug two at once like a savage.   
  
“Well, it looks like we have two more labs…” Akami said as he and Kenji walked down the stairs. “Maybe we should split the keycards,” he suggested.

“Sure, Kenji said. Handing him Rio’s keycard as they hit the stairs. Kenji walked over to Emi’s lab again, taking a deep breath as he put his hand to the doorknob. “Come on, Kenji… it’s just a lab. You’ve seen 14 of them today. One more’s not gonna hurt…” he said to psyche himself up before opening the door. He shut his eyes as he walked into the lab, opening to see a miniature version of the third floor with rows of tools racked up and perfectly organized on the walls, but with smaller, more precision instruments, and measuring tools mixed in. Along with that were workbenches with sheets of paper laid out or crumpled up in a trash barrel.   
  
“So, this is Emi’s… huh?” he asked aloud, feeling something in the back of his head telling him that if he took another step in, he would feel himself grow sadder. He ignored it, he needed to keep going. He had to try and drive this despair into the dirt and crush it, or it would be there forever. So, he looked closer at what he saw around the lab. They were… pictures. Pictures of every student at Enoshima University.    
  
Some of which he didn’t recognize, but 15 of the students were together in front of the gates of the dorm, holding the sign for ‘Class 36, Straight A’s for days!’ Though the strange part was... the 16th student he didn’t recognize. It was a boy with white hair and a baseball cap, standing on the right of Kenji, who was holding the sign.    
  
Other pictures were at odds with the people he knew at this school. One had Reiko and Miho arm wrestling while Akira kept score. Everyone looked to be smiling, a far cry from Reiko’s scowling thug demeanor. There were Yukiji and Dahlia in Yukiji’s lab, playing chess together. There was one of him and Shiro, walking through the halls, both were smiling, though Shiro’s looked more to be a friendly smirk, as they looked to be talking. “N-no, this is bullshit. These are all fake. M-Monokuma faked these… there’s no way-” he stopped as he saw one last picture.

It was him and Emi, sitting on a wooden swing together, hands clasped together with a happy look on their faces, behind them, someone stole Akira’s hat, the boy in the baseball cap, and she was chasing him around. “It’s… they’re real…” Kenji said, the picture fading from his eyes as it got blurry from feeling the sting of tears in them, he looked back up at the dim workshop, gently pulling his sweater open and tucking the picture into the pocket of his shirt, before looking at the floor.   
  
“Kenji?” A voice asked from the door frame. Kenji turned to see Akira standing there.

“Oh, h-hey Akira… how’s… enjoy your lab?” he said, struggling to speak as his voice cracked.

“Kenji, what are you doing here?” she asked, walking over to him. Her voice made it clear she was worried, Kenji tried to force the tears back.

“J-just… wanted to make sure we saw all the labs. Akami’s… Akami’s in Rio’s lab.” he said, rubbing his eyes into his sleeve. “All this sawdust is killing my eyes…”

“Kenji… you suck at lying, you know…” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I know.. I just… I miss her.” Kenji admitted, shrugging her off.

“We all do, Kenji. But you’ve been taking it so much harder. You gotta stop dwelling on it before it eats you up.” she said, sweeping a hand over the workshop. “This… isn’t… Kenji, what is this?” Akira asked as she looked at the pictures. “Is that… are those… us?”

“Yeah… I don’t have any context but…” Kenji said, taking the picture back out of his pocket. “I think me and Emi were… together.” He said, looking away from Akira as she inspected the picture, getting a sullen look in her eyes as she looked up at him.   
  
“I wish I was that Kenji. Everything seemed great… All of you seem great. I don’t get why the fuck we’re here, two of us are dead and… we don’t know when this will stop.” Kenji said, Akira looking away from him and looking back to the picture.

“Wait… who’s that? In the baseball cap?” Akira asked.

“Huh? I… I don’t know. I’ve seen him in a few pictures. Like that one.” Kenji said, pointing at the Class 36 picture.

“Huh… that’s so weird… I don’t think I’ve seen him here before… maybe he dropped out?” Akira guessed.

“Maybe…” Kenji said.

“...We can’t let anyone see these pictures. I feel like it might cause more violence between us.” Akira said.

“Yeah… but what about the Baseball Kid?” Kenji asked, Akira grabbing the group photo.    
  
“No offense… but if he isn’t here, he doesn’t matter to us right now.” Akira said, walking over to a drawer and stuffing photos into it, except for the one Kenji was still holding. “You… you can keep that one if you promise me something.”

“Yeah?” Kenji asked warily.

“You can’t ever go into this lab again. Ever,” she said firmly, holding a hand out.

“But-” Kenji was about to object.

“Kenji, this place is just going to hurt you. I know you like to feel like you know what you’re doing but... It just feels like you’re being haunted by a phantom of something we will never feel again. Wishing for stuff that we can’t reach… there’s no joy in that, ever.” she said, keeping her hand out. “Please, just give me the keycard. Promise me you won’t come back.”

Kenji stood there, looking at her open palm with hesitation before finally handing Akira the keycard. “Okay… I promise,” he said, eyes still bloodshot as he walked off, putting the picture back in his pocket.


	12. Chapter 2, Daily life 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ya ever hear of Invader Number 1?

Chapter 2: Together we are, and alone we will be (Daily life 2)   
  
Akira decided to leave Kenji alone for now, as he decided to return to the main dorm building. She headed back to the hall where all the other labs were and took her cup of black coffee off the end table she placed it on, taking another sip, when a voice that isn’t known for speaking to her caught her attention.   
  
“Officer Kazue, I request your assistance.” Shiro said at the end of the hall. Akira showed some apprehension, but replied to him regardless.   
  
“Oh, Shiro! You need my help?” She said with a feigned smile, hoping to not be in the reticle of one of his long winded ‘I’m better than you’ spiels. He turned away from her, heading back down the hall, heading to the entrance of his lap and opening the door to allow her in.    
  
“It’s related to my personal study. You’re probably the most willing out of the people here to assist me.” He stated, Akira walking into the door and leaning inside. It was the same as the last time she saw it, neat books lining the shelves, a leather couch, a desk with a small lamp, along with a globe.    
  
“What’s the issue?” Akira asked, Shiro walking over and running his finger along the shelves as he spoke to her.

“If this is truly my lab, then I would have sorted these books in an order more befitting of my personal style.” He stated, pulling out a book and reading the title of it, before sliding it back onto the shelves.    
  
“...And what’s your personal style?” Akira asked, lips buried in her mug of coffee between words.    
  
“Alphanumerical. These are sorted by genre, with alphabetical subsections.” Shiro stated, but Akira just blinked a couple of times.   
  
“Will having the books sorted like this inconvenience you?” Akira asked, Shiro sighing softly as he began to remove books from the shelves.    
  
“It will take longer for me to find things, I have a very specific way of doing things, and just being in this room is frustrating me.” He said, stacking the books on the floor as he cleared shelves. “Do you have the time to help me get some peace of mind?” he asked, Akira was still shaken a bit by dealing with Kenji earlier, so she considered it.   
  
“Honestly.. Doing a task this monotonous kind of… makes me feel at ease.” Akira said with a sigh, tentatively walking to the bookshelf beside him and matching his movements, removing books from the shelves.    
  
“And why would that be?” Shiro asked, dusting books off as he removed them, going to the next row. Akira started going faster than him as she removed books like she was a machine.   
  
“Remember how my title is Ultimate Police Cadet? I was still being then apprentice to the chief of police, since I’m not old enough to have tenure.” She stated, removing her books from the shelf, and waiting for Shiro to finish as she spoke. “My job was mostly… handling paperwork. Signing things, keeping records and logs of inventory usage, budgets, signing affidavits, cataloguing evidence… 90% of police work is paperwork, and that was 100% of my job.” Akira stated, Shiro nodding as he finished his bookshelf, going to the next one, Akira matching him.   
  
Akira continued, since it seemed like Shiro was actually listening. “I always did it with a drive to my heart, because I thought if I got through enough of the paperwork… The officer I was a partner to would take me on a real job.” She added, Shiro nodding some as the books began to pile around his feet on the floor in neat stacks.    
  
“I ended up here before that could happen though. But… I wonder what’s happened in the year that I’ve been gone. I hope they didn’t demote me…” She said, looking down at the floor as she stacked her books.    
  
“That reminds me.” Shiro stated, dusting his gloves off before continuing so his hand wouldn’t slip any books out of his hands. “The first thing I thought when I woke up out of my locker, and discovered this killing game was ‘was this a political move?’ I thought… perhaps someone wanted to stop my career by having me here.” He began to speak, Akira slowly going back to her work as it felt like the shelf sorting became faster.   
  
“But… There was something my father said to me when I first became a part of my uncle’s cabinet. Emotions and logic have no place beside each other in the world of policy.” He stated, finally done with another shelf, and going to the next one. “The actions of the controller of Monokuma is not actions of logic. There’s no real reason or advantage he could have gained from imprisoning us and forcing us into a killing game.” He continued.   
  
Akira switched shelves, now about halfway done. “If we eliminate logic from his reasoning, then it would appear Monokuma is keeping us trapped here for an emotional reason. Perhaps catharsis, perhaps pleasure…” He drifted off slightly, Akira thinking for a minute.   
  
“Could someone get pleasure from despair?” Akira asked, but Shiro thought for a minute, looking at the room full of books on the floor.    
  
“That’s a possibility… So if that was their intention, with all the cameras in the building, they probably want us to hate each other. They want us to fight… They want us to suffer.” Shiro mused, Akira looking at the ground and thinking.   
  
“Then… why cause Kenji distress? Maybe we should work together, so we don’t have to worry as much about who hates who?” She replied, hand grasping at her own shirt as she spoke. “And… that statement about kindness and intellect having no place with each other. Who gave you that idea?”    
  
Shiro guided her over to his pile of books and stated quickly, before he could explain further. “Alphabetical order. A, then AA, and so forth.” He spoke, Akira slowly picking up books and putting them on shelves after reading over each title.   
  
“My cousin’s father was the Prime Minister of Japan. He was a kind, well respected man with good ideals, despite the fact he didn’t always have the best ideas, he had good men, with high regards. But… Everyone knew his kindness. The hard nosed, experienced politicians knew that his kindness would make him manipulated… His kindness would cause some to suffer, because whoever got to him first and appealed to his heart would influence him, and cause someone suffering just because he wanted to help.” Shiro spoke, reaching down to grab books and help Akira.   
  
“He accepted money from a donor who wanted him to pass a certain bill into law… Not knowing that it was to the donor’s benefit, then got caught commiting insider trading, and embezzlement, all because he cared too much to distrust someone who spoke to. Being a politician is about being as a stone. Moved by none, influenced by little. Your morals are supposed to be the pillar of Japan… and yet all the people I’ve met had a blind side thanks to their kindness.” Shiro continued, but Akira furrowed her brow somewhat.   
  
“You act like… someone couldn’t have their wits about them while caring for others? Why are they mutually exclusive?” Akira asked, but Shiro just sneered his lip slightly as he spoke.   
  
“It’s why I hate Taisei. I can tell he’s a decent kid, who has his head screwed on correctly… But his kindness, his reputation as the Ultimate Volunteer nearly got us killed. His heart clouded his logic, and couldn’t strike the final blow when the cards were down. His judgement fails as soon as he has to doubt someone he likes.” Shiro said, closing his eyes and clasping a book hard enough to echo in the room.   
  
“I hate that. The truth can be difficult, but… to deny it because it hurts your feelings? Unforgivable. 13 people could have died because he couldn’t accept the idea that one of us commited a murder that night. And not just any one. The one he cared about the most. He voted for me because he let his hatred for me make his choice...” Shiro growled, Akira stopping to look at him.   
  
“I… I think you’re both wrong.” Akira said with determination in her eyes. “People can be kind without having to throw away their personality and wits. They just have to be the right people to do it… Someone who can accept both responsibility, and sacrifice.” Akira replied, but Shiro just looked at her with a stoic look on his face.   
  
“I know that… I don’t hate Taisei because he’s below me… He’s part of the people I’m supposed to represent. Japan as a greater whole, but… I’m not going to let him and his emotions kill us. We can’t feel our way out of this killing game. We need actions, and Taisei’s actions are wrong.” He said, going to the next shelf and continuing to sort books. 

“I can’t say that’s wrong… but it’s hypocritical.” Akira said. “You let your emotions decide your actions. Maybe not as much as Kenji, but you’ve lost control before. I’ve only recently recovered from that knee to the gut.” she pointed out.

“I won’t pretend that I’m not human or free of errors. I simply have better control over my emotions than Taisei. My attack on you was simply a brief lapse and I do apologize. I panicked.” Shiro said. The two finished stacking books, Akira dusting off her hands. “Ah, perfect. Thank you, Kazue. I must admit, I quite enjoyed that.”

“Really? Cool, you’re welcome.” Akira said, surprised at how pleasant Shiro was being.

“A politician has to be challenged, have his viewpoints attacked to truly understand what he values. One who refuses to buckle under pressure is simply a stubborn ass.” he said, pushing his glasses up. “Now then, I’ll need a bit of peace while I read. You’re dismissed, Kazue.”

Akira shrugged and headed off, heading for her lab to finally take inventory of her lab when the door to Dahlia’s lab burst open. “O~hohohoho! Yes, I have not rested like that in decades!” she said, smiling a fanged grin. Akira tilted her head a the Ultimate Vampiress. Centuries, decades, a millennium. Wasn’t she still a teenager?

“How… how old are you, Dahlia?” she asked, puzzled.

“Oh! Officer Kazue, I know you have not walked this mortal earth for even a quarter of my years, but I figured you would have learned that it is improper to ask a lady her age…” Dahlia said with a coy smile. “But, if you grant me permission to your lab, then I shall regale with the tale of my rebirth if you wish.” she offered.

“Uh… sure. If it makes you feel any better, doing the math of that missing year, I’d be 19.” Akira said as she went back into her lab, Dahlia following and sitting on the counter.

“Fuhuhuhuhu… I have no need for the missing year. Barring the year that foul ursine demon took from us, I remember all my years. I still remember that I was born of an English mother and Japanese father when explorer William Adams and his crew were taken in by Japan before the Tokugawa clan shut down the nation in 1639. My mother was the one who raised me, but I always had a certain wanderlust. I wanted to meet my dear father and I did find a way as another English ship came to shore, offering to bring me with them in exchange for labor. I may not have been the alluring beauty who sits before you, but I was still considered cute enough to bring along.” Dahlia said, putting a hand over her mouth and giggling.   
  
Akira, instead of responding just stared at her, brows scrunched with concern.

“For a year, my last year of humanity, I served faithfully aboard the HMS Diamond Supreme, as a navigator and translator for the crew of transporters in the Caribbean Sea, but we were raided by pirates, not just any pirates… immortal, vampiric pirates. They had killed and devoured the crew, but the Dread Captain Blackmoon had taken an eye to me. He had his men force me onto the ship and into his quarters and it was there that he put it on me… that mask…” Dahlia said, fingers tightening on the edge of the counter.   
  
Akira, still incredulous, put a pinky in her right ear, swiveling it around a bit. “Mask…?”

“Indeed. Many believe that vampires are born through a simple bite, but my rebirth involved a ritual of a cursed mask. A mask that looked to be of simple carved stone under the moonlight cast in the open window of his dark quarters. He bit into my right hand to draw out my blood and forced the bloody palm onto the mask. I screamed in pain, but I did not know that my true pain would come until the mask hooked onto my face. The burning pain of rebirth, my humanity shedding itself from my visage, rejecting my soul from the light of the world and coating me in a veil of blood, shadows, and moonlight.”   
  
Akira thought to herself ‘I don’t know if she wants me to believe it, or she’s trying to believe it herself.’

“I had become a vampire and over time would serve as cabin girl for Captain Blackmoon’s ship before finally being given leave when we came ashore in England. It was in those years that I gained my new name of Dahlia Kurotsuki, the captain taking me in as his daughter. When I parted, my undead father gave me the parting gift of the mask that gave me new life. Though since I had insufficient funds in my new home, I sold the mask to a young woman, Mary, who had given birth to a darling baby some months before. But I could tell my tale for a century and never even reach my return to Japan. I simply thank you for your time, Officer Kazue. If there is anything I can do for you in return, ask of it.” Dahlia offered, Akira standing before her in a daze from trying to follow that whole story.

“Huh? Favor? Oh! Well… I want you to do me a solid and not bother Yukiji. I understand how you feel about him, that you like him… But I don’t think stalking him is going to make him any less uncomfortable.” she said, Dahlia’s coy smile slowly fading.

“Why, Officer Kazue. I did promise during the fallen Nakayama’s trial that I would no longer breathe over his sleeping body, did I not? And I have kept to that promise.” she said matter-of-factly.

“Well, yeah. But that’s because the doors are locked. You still keep staring at him during meals, you follow him around in the halls. The only place he probably feels safe in is his lab because he’s got the keycard and can keep you out.” Akira said, Dahlia’s brow furrowing with anger.

“So! You are saying that I should never see or speak to Yukiji again. Never be with that wonderful, handsome, soft-spoken boy for as long as I live, and need I remind you that is longer than THE WORLD? Is that what you ask of me, KAZUE?!?” Dahlia shouted, jumping off the counter, eyes cold with anger. Akira backed up into her desk as Dahlia advanced on her, fangs bared out. In this state, Dahlia looked like a real vampire, even as the plastic fangs hung loose from her gums.

“N-no! That’s not it! I-I just… maybe try respecting his personal space! If he doesn’t feel comfortable around you, he won’t want to be around you.” Akira said, Dahlia glaring daggers at her before storming off with nothing more than a “hmph!” in response. Akira breathed a sigh of relief and went to get another cup of coffee before grabbing her trusty notebook and categorizing the contents of her lab.

After a half-hour of organizing and writing everything down, Akira headed off, walking along the halls when she heard the roll of wheels along the floor, turning to be crashed into by Setsuki, both hitting the floor. “Ack! What the?!?” Akira said as she looked up at Setsuki, grinning as she got up and dusted herself off. 

“Yo, KiKi! You wanna ride?” Setsuki asked, flipping her board into her hand and offering her other hand to Akira. Akira took it and stood back up.

“...Well, I don’t really know how to-” before Akira could object, Setsuki was dragging her to the lab.

“It ain’t hard to shred, Party Cop! C’mon! Lab’s ready!” Setsuki said as they stopped at her lab, throwing the door open. She jumped back onto her board, rolling off to grab a board, helmet and pads for Akira. Akira put on the helmet and pads, setting one foot on the board with full acceptance of the fact that she was going to eat floor. She inhaled, leaning in and slipping straight off the board.

“A-aah!” Akira said, sliding on the floor a few feet, before coming to terms with her lack of shred skill. “This was the worst idea…” she said, lying on the floor as Setsuki jumped over her body with ease.

“Don’t worry, KiKi! Sometimes you gotta eat shit before you really feel the Hype!” Setsuki reassured her

“Wh-what?!? I don’t wanna eat shit!” Akira cried out, mortified.   
  
“It’s a metaphor, dummy! Extreme-ness is like.. 90% being a huge loser and hurting yourself, and then doing the other 10% on camera, and looking awesome in front of everyone else! Also, 5% wearing neat logo tees!” Setsuki said, landing a front flip over the prone Akira.

“That’s 105%! Your percentages are off! Stop doing sick tricks over me!” Akira shouted, feeling her reputation take a nosedive once more. After a few more pop shuvits, kickflips, and nonconsensual no complys from Setsuki and about ten more faceplants from Akira, the two stopped and headed to the vending machine for a water break.   
  
“You have the most durable face. Why do you still have all your teeth?” Akira asked, thankful for the helmet stopping her from landing hard on her incisors.   
  
“Mouth guards! SPONSORED mouth guards!” Setsuki said, grinning and twisting off the plastic bottle cap with her teeth.

“So, you talk about the Hype a lot. What is the Hype? Is it like Hana’s Mojo?” Akira asked.

“Hype is about feeling. It’s about wanting to do something because you feel it! No reason, no logic, you just feel it and do it!” Setsuki explained.

“So… it’s just about doing whatever you feel like doing?” Akira asked further.

“Yeah! It’s how I keep up my positive vibes! By riding the Hype!” she said, chugging down some water.

“...Hey, Setsuki. Are you doing alright? You… kind of… changed during the case.” Akira said carefully, not wanting to upset Setsuki. Setsuki stopped drinking her water, taking the bottle off her lips.

“Yeah, I’m doing alright. I guess it just… really hit me how bad things were. I mean, the bolted windows and the evil bear plush yelling at us to kill each other were one thing… but seeing Rio’s body like that… it made things real to me. It made everything Monokuma said real. We’re stuck here and the only way out is to get everyone killed. I want things to be alright again, I want us to all live. I feel like the only way Monokuma would lose is if he doesn’t get what he wants.” Setsuki said, looking down.

Akira clapped her on the shoulder. “Then we won’t give him what he wants. We’re gonna keep fighting and we’re gonna get out of here.” She said with a smile of reassurance, Setsuki smiled faintly   
  
“I mean… I like the idea of trusting each other, but… You saw what happened with Emi. I thought she was the most on board with the working together program. Then she went crazy, and thought there was a Mastermind.” Setsuki said glumly.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean we’re all gonna go crazy. There’s still 14 of us and one Monokuma. We can beat him!” Akira said, raising a fist. Setsuki smiled and bumped it.

“Yeah!” Setsuki said cheerfully, Akira smiling back. “We’re gonna grind Monokuma to dust! Now c’mon! We’ve got rails to practice grindin’ on!” she said before grabbing Akira and dragging her toward the rails.   
  
Akira couldn’t fathom the amount of bruises she got riding around with Setsuki over just a few short hours. She thought a shower was in order, but the walk back from the labs to the campus was too daunting for her. “Hrm, by the time I get back to the campus, the others will probably have used up all the hot water…” she grumbled as she headed down to the first floor, stopping as she walked along the left hall. ‘I think Miho’s lab has a shower…’ Akira thought, knocking on the door. “Hey, Miho? You there?” she asked, giving another few knocks when there was no answer.

Akira checked the doorknob, feeling it turn and opening it to find no one inside. “Uh… Miho? Hello? You in?” she said as she looked around. The ring was empty, none of the exercise equipment was out, it looked more like it had never been touched. Akira turned poked her head out, seeing Akami pass by. “Uh, Akami? You see Miho anywhere?” she asked.

“No, I was just heading off for dinner and to wrap up for the night.” he said. “You think something’s gone wrong? I hope we don’t have another Rio on our hands…” he said.

“I hope so too, Akami. I’m gonna check her showers real quick. Lemme know if you see at the campus.” Akira said, Akami giving her a thumbs up before heading off. Akira headed for the shower door, trepidation taking control briefly as she turned it, hearing the click. She opened the door slowly to find an empty shower room lined with showers and towels set on a nearby bench. Akira breathed a sigh of relief, putting a hand to her chest.

“Thank God… just a shower room…” Akira said quietly.

“Hey, Akira! What’s up?” came a voice behind Akira, causing her to yelp as she turned around, seeing Miho standing behind her, just her hair wrapped in a towel, leaving the rest of her body nude.

“Ahh! M-Miho!” Akira said, face heating up as she froze in place. “I-I wasn’t! Y-your door was open and- a-and I thought you w-were-” she stammered out before Miho chuckled.

“Hey, you gonna grab a towel or do you wanna just keep gawking at me all night?” Miho said with a wink.

“Wh-what?!? I’m not! You just… You have all… things… you.. Uhm… uhhhhhhh….” Akira said, words not able to escape her mouth. Miho just began to giggle, covering her mouth.   
  
“You’re such a trainwreck! I love it.” Miho said teasingly.

“I-I’m not a trainwreck! You’re naked!” Akira squeaked out.

“Yeah.. it’s a shower. In my lab. Now, are we gonna shower or are you gonna go Invader #1 on me?” Miho asked, grabbing a towel and throwing it onto Akira’s head.

“...Huh? Invader #1?” Akira asked, lifting the towel off her head and turning to see Miho walk over and start turning on showers.

“Heh, do you know the basics of wrestling, at least? Eating your vitamins, saying your prayers? All that crap? That’s like… baseline wrestling.” Miho joked, Akira scowling a bit, furrowing her brow in thought.   
  
“Invader #1… was an alien!” Akira guessed with conviction in her voice, Miho laughing at how wrong it was.

“Not even close! Now, get in your shower before the hot water runs out.” Miho said, shutting one of the shower doors, there was a partition that let Akira see Miho’s face, but thankfully for her hid the rest of her body so they could have a relatively normal conversation. Miho told Akira several old wrestling stories she had heard over the years, from the humorous to the horrifying.

“...Oh… oh God… poor Brody…” Akira said.

“Yeah, it’s a real shit story, but that stuff’s few and far between in wrestling.” Miho said as she worked up a fresh lather in her hair.

“Speaking of, why did you get into wrestling?” Akira asked, Miho tapping her chin in thought.   
  
“I think I loved how dramatic everything is. Everything’s so exaggerated and easy to follow when I was a kid, I only realized how cheesy it was when I was growing up, but I was infatuated with it. It’s a stage play with kicks, opera where you throw someone through a chainlink fence. It’s like… fighting, but the fight is always dramatic! There’s no dud fights unless the wrestler themselves suck.” Miho explained.

“Wow… I didn’t think wrestling had that kind of power.” Akira said sheepishly.

“Anything can have that power if you’re invested in it. It’s why I hate it when people call wrestling fake. Yeah, it’s scripted and the matches are predetermined, but just calling it all fake is telling me that I’m wrong to care and that the thing I love doesn’t matter. People spend all of their lives to try and entertain people, and most of them get injured for it.” Miho said, shutting off her shower. “Ahh! That hit the spot! Now, whaddya saw we grab a bite at the Dining Hall?”

“Sure, just give me a couple minutes to rinse.” Akira said, hearing footsteps leaving the shower room as she finished up, shutting off the shower and grabbing her towel to dry off.


	13. Chapter 2, Daily Life 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basketball is a game for perverts.

Chapter 2: Together We Are, And Alone We Will Be (Daily Life 3)

Ding Dong Bing Bong

“Goooood morning, students! Get ready for another beautiful day here at Enoshima University!” came another Monokuma wake up call. Kenji rolled out of bed, eyelids heavy as he shuffled around Yukata, still asleep on the floor. He got on a new pair of clothes. “Yukata, it’s morning…” Kenji said, hovering over Yukata.

“Unh… I don’t wanna go to camp, mom… there’s bees…” Yukata mumbled as he slept. Kenji shook his head, reaching over Yukata and grabbing the pillow off his bed. He tossed it right at Yukata’s head. “Gah! Kenji!”

“There ya go. Come on, man. It’s morning.” Kenji said, dodging Yukata’s pillow counterattack. “Good morning to you too, Yukata.” he said as Yukata got up, grabbing his sheet and leaving Kenji’s dorm. Kenji waited until Yukata was out of earshot, opening up his drawer and looking at the picture again. That happy picture of him and Emi holding hands on the swing. He didn’t know what he expected when he looked at it. Maybe he thought if he looked at long enough, he’d wake up from this nightmare. That this was all a bad dream and he’d wake up to see Emi smiling at him. That she and Rio would be alive, that Monokuma was just some figment of his imagination, that this whole Killing Game was some bad joke.

He set the picture back down and shut the drawer, leaving the dorm room and heading for the Dining Hall. As he made it to the first floor, he was suddenly hit in the stomach. “OW! What the hell?!?” Kenji said as his arms wrapped around the object that had struck him, feeling something rubbery with small bumps as he ran his hands along it. He looked and saw a basketball in his hands. “What?!? Why is there a basketball?!?” he asked, baffled as a sudden whistling pierced his ears.

“Ah, Kenji Taisei! There you are! Meet me in my lab ASAP! You have an appointment!” Hana said, dressed in full basketball gear with a whistle hung around her neck.

“What? Hana, it’s seven in the morning! I need breakfast!” Kenji said before being smacked in the face by an object wrapped in foil. “Stop throwing things at me!”

“What you need is vigorous ups! This is your prescription from Dr. Dunk! PREPARE FOR YOUR WRITE UP! Eat that protein bar and meet me at my lab!” Hana barked out, knocking the basketball out of his hands and taking it as she dribbled away. Kenji grabbed the protein bar off the floor, thinking about whether to join Hana when her whistle blared out. “ON THE DOUBLE, KENJI! WE’RE WASTING DAYLIGHT!” she shouted, Kenji quickly running after her, ripping open the package and forcing the protein bar into his mouth as he ran.

The trek to the labs felt shorter since he was having to keep up with Hana as he soon made it to her lab, trying to catch his breath. She opened the door, holding two plastic bottles full of orange liquid. “Ah, the patient finally arrives! Here, have some OJ and step into my office, Mr. Taisei!” Hana said, shoving one of the bottles into his chest, Kenji just staring at her confused.

“...Office? Does this room have an office?” 

“The dunk is my office. Now, please come in, we have important matters to attend to.” Hana said, moving aside so Kenji could enter.

“Hana, what is all this about?” he asked, Hana popping the top of her bottle with her teeth.

“What this is about is that your Mojo has been at critical levels for the past few days. You need to get your Mojo back up and a couple hours of exercise is a good way to start off your morning right! You and I are gonna do a few rounds! I even got us an announcer!” Hana said, pointing to Bam at the announce table.

“And it is a sunny day here at Enoshima University as we get ready for a 15 minute pick-up game between the Ultimate Basketball Star, Hana Okamoto, and her opponent, the ever determined Kenji Taisei, the Ultimate Volunteer!” Bam shouted into the microphone, which picked up over the PA system despite Kenji clearly seeing where he was standing, roughly 20 feet away.

“...Does Bam really need to be here?” Kenji asked.

“Of course! It’s motivating! What’s a sport without a dope-ass commentator talking about everything you do, and making it dramatic?” Hana said as she headed to the end of the half-court, chugging her orange juice and tossing the empty bottle off the to the side. Kenji shrugged and ran to meet her.

“Ready?” Hana asked, gently dribbling the ball as Kenji got into a wide stance. He... didn’t really play basketball back in high school, but watching a few games he somewhat knows what to do. He would screen Hana, try and stop her from getting past him, then steal the ball on an attempted 3 pointer and score himsel-

Hana immediately shot the ball through his legs while he was still thinking about what he should do, breezing past him and slam dunking the ball into the hoop with her diminutive frame. “SLAMTOWN! POPULATION? HANA!” Bam announced, the ball bouncing off the ground as she did a couple of pull ups on the hoop. 

“I AM LITERALLY ON FIRE! COME ‘N PUT THIS OUT KENJI! COME ‘N PUT THIS OUT!” She gloated, dropping off the hoop and pointing at him. 

“...I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Kenji mused to himself. For the next fifteen minutes, Kenji found himself trounced by Hana every time the buzzer sounded. He would call this a massacre, but that would require resistance at any point as she landed three-points, perfect slam dunks, jump shots, hook shots, even alley ooping herself by throwing it up and dunking it with no assistance.

“WHITE CHOCOLATE!” Hana shouted as she finished off the game, the score stopping at 52-2, Kenji having managed a lucky free throw. “And game! Feeling better, Kenji?” she asked.

“..I don’t know. I should be sad about how badly I scored, but that was… kind of fun.” Kenji said, Hana flashing a massive grin at him.

“Hell yeh! That’s the Mojo coming back! You take that Mojo and start running with it, Kenji! You’ll be back at it in no time!” she said excitedly, pumping her fist in the air.

“An impressive 50-point lead seals the deal as Hana Okamoto secures her status as the Ultimate Basketball Star!” Bam called from the table.

“Thanks for coming in, Bam! I’m gonna go get some breakfast!” Hana said, running off with ball in hand. Bam started to shut off and unplug the equipment, Kenji walking over to the table.

“You know, we don’t really talk much, huh Bam?” he said.

“No, our paths rarely cross in this University! I’m usually talking with Hana and Setsuki. Yukata dislikes having me commentate his card games!” Bam semi-shouted, Kenji now remembering why he didn’t talk with Bam often.

“...Does doing that hurt?” Kenji asked.

“Hurt? No! Not at alllllittle bit, yeah… part of it is my natural voice being that deep, but I have to add a bit of volume to really project.” Bam explained, lowering his voice a bit.

“I mean, you don’t really have to do that when you’re not announcing.” Kenji said.

“Nonsense! I told you when we met that my volume and rhythm need to stay at a perfect level or my never hold it again!” Bam said, affronted and glaring at Kenji through his sunglasses.

“You… you just dropped your volume and you got it back just fine.” Kenji said, Bam pushing up his sunglasses. “So… uh… you know Hana?” Kenji asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Yeah. We went to the same high school. I commentated a lot of her home games and she would sometimes help out with calibrating the equipment. Guess you could say we’re inseparable.” Bam said, his voice dropping back down to listenable levels. Kenji rubbed his chin, wondering what else to talk to Bam about.

“”I was wondering what being an Ultimate Sports Commentator entailed. It’s not just being loud, is it?” Kenji asked.

“Of course not! It’s also about being knowledgeable about everything you commentate! As a sports announcer, you are the guiding voice to the viewer or listener to the game and need to make sure they are able to jump in mid-game and still feel like they watched from the beginning! Along with that is being compelling! It’s one thing to rattle off the scores, facts and jargon but to keep a viewer interested, to keep a listening from changing the radio station. That requires you to create a compelling environment. I make it a habit to study about the people I wish to talk about, because their hard work needs to be announced. And I make sure that my language is creative enough to make it more than a simple sport, but a battle between warriors!” Bam finished his explanation with a sense of pride in his voice.

“Wow… so, why an announcer?” Kenji asked.

“...Well, it’s so I don’t blend in.” Bam admitted, looking away from Kenji.

“Blend in?” Kenji asked, head tilting.

“I don’t really have the most impressive Ultimate Talent and without it, I don’t stand out in a crowd. I have to make the most of what I do have to make it so people won’t forget me. It’s why I dress the way I do, it’s why I’m so loud and it’s why I became an announcer. I had the voice for it, so I took to the table and wanted to make sure that I was the best damn commentator I could be.” Bam explained, keeping his sunglasses close to keep his eyes covered.

“So… you’re worried about being forgotten?” Kenji asked, Bam nodding, eyes hidden behind his shades. “Well, it worked... But isn’t how people remember you better than being remembered?” he mused, Bam looking up at him.

“...How I’m remembered?” Bam asked, sunglasses dropping briefly.

“Yeah, it’s all well and good to be remembered, but if people remember you as a loudmouth who never shut up, no offense,” Kenji began, noticing the evil eye Bam was giving him. “Then people won’t want to remember you. Maybe focus more on leaving a good impression on one or two people than annoying everyone.” he said, Bam pushing up his shades and contemplating.

“Hrm… that sounds reasonable, but who do I leave a good impression on?” Bam wondered.

“I mean, you and Hana are good friends, right? You guys hang all the time. She likes having you commentate her games.” Kenji said.

“Hm… yes! Of course! Thank you, Kenji! You may be mediocre at basketball, but you truly are the Ultimate Volunteer! A true helping hand for those in need!” Bam exclaimed, nearly poking Kenji’s eye out with his finger.

“Uh… thanks, I think.” Kenji said, scratching the back of his head.. “Maybe we should get going. I haven’t had anything to eat besides that protein bar.” he said, heading out of the lab. As he headed for the stairs, he saw someone heading up, moving aside to let them pass.

“Hey! I was wondering where the fuck you were, Kenji!” Reiko barked out.

“Ah! W-wait! I didn’t do anything, I swear!” Kenji said, frozen on the stairs as Reiko climbed up and grabbed him the collar, dragging him back up the stairs.

“Shut the fuck up! You’re coming with me! Hi Bam.” Reiko said, waving to Bam as he headed down the stairs. Kenji struggled as Reiko dragged him to her lab.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet!” Kenji moaned as Reiko stopped and tossed him, Kenji hitting his side and sliding on the floor. He hit a wall, knocking a bucket off the shelf and sending it falling onto his head. He heard the clatter of a fridge door opening, Reiko’s rummaging through the fridge and the slam of the door. Then came a series of beeps and the hum of a microwave. He struggled to pull the bucket off getting it off his head and seeing Reiko open up the microwave.

“Eat up, Kenji. You’re gonna need the energy.” Reiko said, shoving a cheap frozen chicken sandwich into his hands before taking a bite of her own. She threw a can of Panta at him, landing it in the bucket. Kenji took a bite of the sandwich, suddenly being hit with a mild heat from the chicken. It was a spicy chicken. Kenji, huffing out air, grabbed the Panta and cracked it open, drinking down.

“God, you are such a fuckin’ wuss…” Reiko grumbled, taking another bite.

“I wasn’t expecting spicy! I also wasn’t expecting to be kidnapped today!” Kenji objected, eating more carefully with the second bite.

“I don’t fuck around with asking. When I want someone’s help, I get it. And I can’t just tell you to help me fix a bike or you’d start bitchin’ to your cop friend.” Reiko said, finishing off her sandwich and chugging her Panta. “Oh, fuck yeah! That’s the good stuff!” she exclaimed, crushing the can against her temple.

“So, you need my help fixing a bike? Don’t you do this regularly?” Kenji asked, careful not to say anything that Reiko would take as an insult.

“Yeah, well I’ve been out of fuckin’ practice and now I need help and since you’re the Ultimate Volunteer, you’re probably the best chance I got of getting this girl running! Whaddya want, for me to ask Shiro to help? Pussy’d probably whimper about getting grease on his poor silk gloves.” Reiko said, grabbing tools around the lab. “Now, you gonna help me out or are we gonna have some problems?” she asked, Kenji figuring that he did not want to pick wrong here.

“Okay, I’ll help! Just keep the bat out of things!” Kenji said, Reiko grinning at him.

“Don’t worry, I got it put away. Grab a screwdriver, let’s get down and dirty.” she said, sounding happy for once. It sounded off to Kenji given her usual voice was gruff and confrontational. Kenji followed her to the motorcycle, taking a screwdriver in hand. The two looked over the bike, checking to see what had been broken or fallen into disuse.

“Still got a working frame, so that’s good. Engine’s fucked, though. Probably because it’s been sitting in here for a few months. Se if you got a spare in your lab.” Reiko said in a commanding tone.

“...Why would I have a spare engine in my lab?” Kenji asked.

“Because you got a whole bunch of shit in your lab! I probably tossed an engine in there and literally forgot about it!” Reiko shouted. “Now get me a fuckin’ spare engine!”

Kenji bolted out of Reiko’s lab, pulling out his keycard and getting to his lab. He looked around, passing by the tools and stopping at a shelf where there was an engine, labeled Reiko’s Spare Engine. “Alright! There we go!” he said, grabbing the engine, nearly dropping it with how heavy it was. He held tight to it and carried the heavy engine back up the stairs to Reiko’s lab, seeing Reiko covered in grease already, surrounded by the disassembled bike parts. She had her duster tossed aside, wearing only a white tank top.

“About fuckin’ time! Set it down over there, we got some more shit to replace!” Reiko said, ponting a wrench at an empty spot on the floor.

“...What are we gonna need?” Kenji said as he set the engine down. Reiko listed off all the parts they were going to need, Kenji making a mental note and running back to his lab, putting all the parts in a box and carrying it back. They soon got to work, Reiko doing most of the work unless she needed a part, tool or for him to hold something in place. Kenji found her surprisingly calm during the whole thing, which made it easier to fix the motorcycle since she wasn’t snapping at him.

“The main reason I needed to work on this is because of how long this bike must have sat here.” Reiko said as she slammed back another can of Panta. “The fuel’s gone tits up from sitting in the tank for so long, and it’s ruined the carburetor, so the fuel won’t mix with the air, or it will block the intake vent with crap. But not anymore! We fuckin’ fixed it.” Reiko said proudly, giving Kenji a hand back up, his face was coated in smudges of grease, even after Reiko’s warning of ‘don’t rub your face.’

“Thanks for the help, Kenji. Haven’t had help like that since back when I was still running the Killer Queens.” Reiko said, tossing him another can of Panta.

“The Killer Queens?” Kenji asked, Reiko chuckling.

“My gang. One of the most feared gangs in Japan, surprised you never heard of them, but I guess a goody two-shoes punkass like you never got on our bad side. They used to be the Crimson Kings, led by this real big shot egotistical prick, Tetsuya. Like, imagine Shiro if he wore fishnets, had stupid hair and thought he could win every fight despite being built like a mannequin in a wig. That was Tetsuya.” Reiko said.

“So, if Tetsuya was such a... “ Kenji said, trying to find the right words to describe him.

“Punk ass bitch?” Reiko suggested with a smirk.

“...Sure, why not? If Tetsuya was such a punk, how were the Crimson Kings so feared in Japan?”

“Hah! They weren’t. They were big, yeah. Huge. But Tetsuya got the leadership after throwing the leader off a bridge when he wasn’t looking during a showdown. It caused a lot of infighting among the gang. He tends to let other people fight in his place, like when Tetsuya had dyed-in-the-wool members of the gang challenging him over his leadership. Tetsuya hated people challenging him and usually had his loyal hands stomp out anyone who got in his face.” Reiko explained.

“Except you, it sounds like.” Kenji said, Reiko chuckling and clapping him on the shoulder.

“Damn straight! I was building up the Killer Queens back in Sendai and word was that the Crimson Kings were going to start making moves in my turf. Now, I was only fourteen at the time, but Sendai was my hometown and the Killer Queens were running things, so I wasn’t gonna let that happen. I grabbed my bat and went up to meet with him. Tetsuya laughed at me when I came up to him and told him to fuck off, but after I smashed his biggest enforcer in the head, he started listening. Sure, it took me kicking the shit out of ALL his enforcers, then taking him up to the roof of the warehouse hideout.” Reiko said.

“Wow, you did that without getting hurt?” Kenji asked.

“Oh, hell no! I got fucked up. Hard. Being tough ain’t about not getting hurt. People that don’t get hurt are pussies who never fought. Tough is getting your ass handed to you, getting back up and demanding them to hand it to you a second time, just because they haven’t kicked you hard enough to feel it in your soul. Anyway, I dangled Tetsuya over the roof and make him cry like the little bitch he is. He promised to stay out of Sendai and I thought it’d be the end of that. But the the rest of the Crimson Kings soon came to Sendai and I thought they were going to get revenge or start shit to get under my skin. But then it turns out they wanted to join us. So, we absorbed the whole group into ours and became the biggest and most feared gang in all of Japan. You think that counts as a checkmate?” Reiko asked.

“I dunno, you’d have to ask Yukiji, though I don’t think he’ll want to answer you.” Kenji said with a chuckle, Reiko chuckling back.

“Yeah, fuckin’ nerd would probably freak if I got near his lab… hey, Kenji?” Reiko said.

“Yeah?” Kenji asked, feeling a touch nervous.

“Thanks for helpin’ me out. You’re pretty cool when you’re not screaming like a goddamn pansy.” she said, Kenji blinking in surprise.

“Uh… thanks, Reiko.” Kenji said, finishing off his Panta.

“Yeah, yeah. Now get outta here, you’re buggin’ me.” she said with a smirk. Kenji headed off, tossing his can in the trash and heading out of the labs. He was now covered in grease and needing a bath.

“Hey! Hey hey hey heeeey!” Monokuma shouted from behind him. Kenji turned around, eyes shocked from the sudden change in volume.

“Can’t you at least remember to RECYCLE? You just threw your can of Panta in the trash. I would like to inform you that I’ve provided you PROPER RECEPTACLES! Use ‘em, they have that little triangle symbol on them with the arrows? Even a baby knows that.” Monokuma exclaimed.

“It was in Reiko’s lab! If you got a problem with it, take it up with her!” Kenji shot back.

“Ah, passing the buck, eh? I expected more out of you, Mr. Taisei. What kind of heathen are you!?” Monokuma shouted, paws shaking with fury.

“Why are you so upset about recycling?!?” Kenji asked, exasperated.

“Hey! Unlike Akira, Enoshima University has a reputation to uphold! This is a prestigious building of higher learning! We can’t have you going around leaving cans lying around!” Monokuma said. “So, remember to recycle your cans and bottles or I’m putting it in the regulations!” he warned, disappearing as he always did. Kenji kept up his walk back to the campus.

After the long walk back, Kenji made it to the Bathing Room. “Hey, Kenji! Where ya been, buddy?” Haru asked as he walked up to Kenji.

“Hey, Haru. Sorry… I’ve been out of it since… Y’know.” he said, rubbing the back of his head through his chestnut colored hair.

“It’s fine, man. But you’re lookin better.” Haru said.

“Thanks. Hana and I played basketball… though it was more like Hana playing basketball while I just stood there and lost. Then I helped Reiko fix a motorcycle. That went… better than I expected.” Kenji said.

“Besides all the grease on your face?” Haru joked, Kenji laughing.

“Well, that’s why I’m here. How about you?” Kenji asked.

“Kiko and I are coming back from a walk. It’s been lovely out these past few days, so we’ve been taking advantage of that and getting some fresh air.” Haru said.

“Oh, cool. I’ll try not to use all the hot water on you.” Kenji said as he opened the door, Kiko walking up to the doorway, turning around and sitting in place, eyes focused and staring straight.

“Looks like Kiko is guarding the door for us. She does that pretty much on instinct whenever I shower. I think she’s looking out for a possible attacker.” Haru said.

“She doesn’t know about the Killing Game, does she?” Kenji asked, both worried and curious that Kiko might know more than he’d expect from a dog. Most dogs, to his knowledge understood ‘food, ball, sleep and friend.’ but Kiko was ready to sit at attention in case of an attacker.

“She understands that somebody was dead in the showers, but I don’t think she understands how it happened.” Haru said. “Hey, it’s a good way to know if Monokuma’s coming.” he said, Kenji smiling and heading into the shower room, grabbing a towel and stripping down. Thankfully there was still plenty of hot water as he got to work washing off all the grease and sweat from today’s activity.

“Ahhh! Soothing, ain’t it?” Haru said.

“Yeah, I needed this… so, what was it like, breeding Kiko?” Kenji asked.

“It wasn’t easy. I had trained plenty of dogs before, but breeding’s an entirely different beast. I had to basically learn a new skill, though I was lucky enough to find some good books on it. If you ever want to breed your own dogs, pick up some of Gundham Tanaka’s books. They’re a bit hard to decipher, he rambles on about some sort of black magic stuff, but all hs tips worked.” Haru explained.

“Hm, dunno if I’m gonna do breeding. I’m not great with dogs. I don’t hate them, I just think I’d end up being overpowered by a small army of corgis…” Kenji said, Haru letting out a great laugh.

“You gotta watch out for corgi stampedes! They sneak up on you!” Haru said. “So, when we get out of here, what are you gonna do?” he asked, Kenji thinking it over as he doused his head in shampoo.

“Well… I guess I’ll probably take my skill online. Put up a site so I can build stuff for people who need something made…” Kenji said. “I mean, I’m not super skilled at building stuff, but I can help out and I’ve been getting experience with nail bats and motorcycles, plus I’ve done labor for free, so why not use it to make a living?” he said.

“That’s the spirit, Kenji! And hey, if Kiko ever needs a new doghouse then I know who to call.” Haru said, Kenji smiling as he tilted his head down. Kiko started barking, drawing the two out of their shower talk. “Kiko! Down girl! Who’s there?” Haru shouted, the door opening to a voice.

“Attention all showering students! Monokuma has given me orders to inform you that we will be meeting at the gym at 7 PM sharp! And be sure to wear pants!” Bam called before shutting the door.

“...Did he really need to use Bam for that? Can’t he just pop in wherever?” Kenji asked.

“Must be something big at the Theater if he’s sending out messengers. Plus, he’s probably adhering to Akira’s regulations about popping into the showers.” Haru said as he stepped out. Kenji couldn’t help but smile at the thought of one place Monokuma couldn’t bother him. He’d have to thank Akira for that when they met up at the gym.


	14. Chapter 2, Daily Life 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you guys seen 'movie?'

Chapter 2: Together we are, and alone we will be (Daily Life 4)   
  
Monokuma announcing he wished to meet everyone in the gym typically meant bad news. But Kenji just braced himself for it, getting his clothing on and making a rush to the Gym, since he wasn’t sure what time it was at the moment.    
  
Other students filed in, Kenji wasn’t as late as he usually was this time despite being midshower, so his hair was still dripping with water since he didn’t towel himself off yet. Kenji sat down next to Akira, looking up at the small stage of the gym. On stage, Monokuma was sitting in a director’s chair, holding a paper megaphone in one paw, and adjusting his raspberry colored beret with his other paw.    
  
“Director Monokuma wishes to speak to you all! Get in, settle down, no snacks or cellphones during my announcement!” He shouted into the megaphone, a projector being wheeled into the room by two smaller Monokumas as the late arrivals, this time Dahlia, Hana and Airi made their way into the room.   
  
The lights shut off, leaving just a dim spotlight illuminating lighting monokuma, as he slowly revealed a screen the projector would shine its light upon. “Instead of the usual Monokuma banter… without further adieu… the trailer for my piece de resistance~!” He said, trying to work up a french accent. The reel on the projector began to roll, projecting a countdown on screen.    
  
_ 3… 2… 1… _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Heeeeeeeeello, students!” Monokuma said, giving a tip of his beret. “If you’re watching this, I’m in a movie!... Well.. A movie trailer.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ A deeper voiced Monokuma began to speak over footage of the remaining students in the school, Akira in her room, Kenji trying to get a candy bar out of the machine, Hana asleep on the floor, with a basketball on her head. “In a world controlled by despair… 14 students, I think…” The last bit was spoken in his usual high pitched tone, before clearing his throat and going back to the dramatic one he had. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Will have to encounter… one of the greatest tasks of their lives. The motive… for the killing game!” He shouted, a string quartet performing a ‘dun dun dun’ sound almost perfectly timed to it.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ There was a picture of Monokuma Theater, at night. “It’s two days until Monokuma has his awesome, spectacular, super neato n’ stuff Monokuma Theater, at 4PM, he knows something the students didn’t know about their oh so mysterious pasts…” He said, trying to sound ominous, but.. It just wasn’t working with his voice.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “He will reveal a secret about every single one of you, some might be good, some might be bad… But in order to stop it from happening… A murder must be committed!” Lightning bolts struck behind the theater, before cutting back to Monokuma’s face.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “But… You’re not in this alone. If you can commit the murder, and escape, Monokuma will kindly give you a gift as you graduate from this academy of terror.” Narrator Monokuma spoke, before poking the screen, and going back to his normal voice. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You get to take someone with you! They live, and you can go together! Isn’t that neat!?” He said with a tiny hop, before action music began to play and credits began to roll.  _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Kenji Taisei as: Idiot Hero._ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ Monokuma dubbed over each students voice in video clips, to come up with a snappy quote for each of them in a mocking voice.. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Emi Emi Emi.” He overdubbed Kenji, offensively. _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Shiro Kiruma as: Stuck-Up Douchebag_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Mmph. Hmm. Mnnnnnnrg. I hate you, you suck.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Bam Takahashi as: Loud Guy_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “I exist!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Dahlia Kurotsuki as: Weird Vampire Chick_ ** _ . _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Spooky Scary!” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Hana Okamoto as: NBA Jam!_ ** __   
  


_ “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Reiko Ono as: Fuck Girl_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Fuck. Fuckity fuck. Awwwww fuck! Fuckfuckfuck.” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Yukata Watanabe as: The NERD_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Nyrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” It was just a picture of Yukata making a strange face, no actual animation. _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Yukiji Chimon as: Awkward Lad!_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “I’m socially awkward, love me.” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Miho Ishii as: Fanservice!_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “I’m naked in every scene!” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Haru Yamada and his stupid dog, as: Haru Yamada, and his stupid dog._ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Arf.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Akami Sakiko as: Ambiguously Girly Man!_ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Oooh, pretty!” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Setsuki Yori as: The Stoner Chick._ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “Dude… No wai.” _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Akira Kazue as: The Justicey One._ ** _   
_ _   
_ _ “I like JUSTICE. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!” He shouted, photoshopping her eyes to be crossed.  _ _   
_ _   
_ ** _Airi Kudo as: The mysterious one in like, every single one of these movies. Seriously, that always happens._ ** ** _   
_ ** _   
_ _ “I’m mysterious.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _   
_ _ Coming soon to a Monokuma Theater near you! Don’t you DARE MISS IT! _ _   
_ __   
Then the film shut off, the lights turning back on and leaving the students confused and offended. “OH, PISS OFF!” Reiko shouted, tossing her metal folding chair at the stage. Kenji was shaking in his seat, fire in his eyes.

“Ugh, disgusting…” Shiro said as he got up, walking out of the gym.

“Hey! Hey! And where do you think you’re going, Mr. Kiruma?!?” Monokuma shouted, having already dodged Reiko’s chair.

“I have no intention of staying here while you mock me and others. The simple announcement of the additional survivor motive did not require this much time and energy wasted. If you have anything of value to say, Monokuma, say it now.” Shiro said.

“Indeed, young Kiruma brings up a good point. This presentation is gaudy, denigrating and utterly pointless. You have no secrets to reveal of us and none so dark that it would drive us to murder.” Dahlia said, waving Monokuma off before standing up herself.

“Oh no…? Are you really sure about Dahlia Kurotsuki, if that is your real name?” Monokuma said, letting out an amused snicker. “I know a lot of things you wouldn’t want to tell, and even some things you don’t remember. Are you absolutely sure you would want people knowing about that? Do you?” he asked, turning his head to the entire group, many of them glaring silently back at him.

“That’s what I thought! You have three days to commit a murder if you want to keep your secret safe! Either way, I win! A~hahahahahaha!” Monokuma said. “But to give you all a push, how about I give you something special?” he announced, a sudden blip coming in on their Monopads. They all opened theirs, many looking in shock at what they saw.

“Th-this is… how did you- how did you learn of this, Monokuma?!?” Shiro shouted, pointing a hard finger at the bear who simply laughed.

“Puhuhuhu~ You really think there’s nothing I don’t know about you? I know your secrets, your pasts, all the shames and fears you buried away and hope they would never surface! I know everything about you guys, even more than you might think~” Monokuma said, laughing heartily at their shock, anger and confusion.

“I will not stand for this! This is an outrage!” Shiro yelled, glaring furiously at Monokuma. Dahlia gritted her teeth and shut her Monopad off, body shaking with fury. Yukiji, Yukata and Hana looked distressed at what they were reading, Airi was left wide-eyed in horror before running out of the gym. Reiko’s grip on her Monopad tightened, looking like she would snap it in fury. Miho and Akira looked away from theirs and to each other. Akami looked pale, his breath becoming heavy with suppressed anger. Bam looked around the room warily, covering up his Monopad.

“...That’s it?” Kenji asked, cutting through the tension suddenly as everyone looked at him.

“Huh? What do you mean by that, Kenji?” Akira asked.

“I mean, the best he can come up with for me is that I’m afraid of cats?” Kenji said. “I mean, it’s embarrassing, but I’m not gonna kill anyone over it.” he said, shrugging.

“Look, it’s not my fault that you’re so boring! You couldn’t be a dangerous terrorist or have a relative on death’s door, could you?!? No, you had to be boring Kenji and his stupid ailurophobia!” Monokuma shouted, veins popping in his forehead. “Well, guess that’s one act off the Monokuma Theater! Good! That means more time for the real juicy stories! Puhuhuhu~” Monokuma said before finally vanishing.

“...Hey, that’s it! Kenji, you did it!” Haru said with a big, toothy grin as he clapped Kenji on the back.

“...I did? What did I do?” Kenji asked, confused as to why admitting to being afraid of cats was such a big deal.

“You weakened Monokuma’s threat by exposing yourself!” Haru said jovially.

“I did WHAT?!?” Kenji said, eyes widening.

“You exposed your secret and made it harder for Monokuma to use it against us! If we all tell our secrets, we may be able to beat him and get out of here!” Haru explained.

“Huh… you think so?” Kenji said hopefully.

“Yeah, in fact, I’ll tell ya my secret. I cry at every movie I watch. Every time.” Haru said.

“...Even the comedies?” Kenji asked.

“Yeah. Sometimes a cute character will fall down, and then everyone goes and checks on him, and he doesn’t get up right away and I just…” He said, clutching his chest and feeling a tear drop from his eye. “That gets to me, Kenji… every time!”

“Wow… that’s really something, Haru.” Kenji said, patting him on the arm as Setsuki walked over.

“Keeennnn, that was rad, standing up to Monokuma like that!” Setsuki said, raising a fist.

“Everyone says that, but I was just the first one to expose his secret. It’s just silly to be worried about something like that.” Kenji said, bumping fists with Setsuki.

“Yeah, like anyone’s gonna care if I used to stutter.” Setsuki said.

“You had a stutter?” Kenji said, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, until about 8th grade. It’d happen when I got upset, but then I mellowed out.” Setsuki admitted, Kenji finding it hard to imagine Setsuki ever being upset at anything or anyone. But this was a good sign, these dark secrets were just jokes. No one was going to hurt anyone over these, much less kill anyone.

“Everyone! Get your secrets out! Monokuma’s plan is just a trick to psych you out! We can beat him! We can-” Kenji shouted, hand clenched in a triumphant fist when Shiro spoke up.

“Just because you have a childish secret does not mean that Monokuma has presented an empty threat, Taisei.” He said calmly.

“Ah, come on, Shiro! Whatever you have to admit, it can’t be that embarrassing that-” Kenji said, trying to stay positive but Shiro once again cut him off.

“Taisei, my secret cuts down the very foundation of who I am as a person. To admit to something so openly is not an option and I refuse to allow anyone to learn it.” Shiro said coldly before leaving.

“Shiro’s right, there’s just some things that need to stay hidden, Kenji.” Akami said.

“...You have freckles, Akami?” Yukiji asked, looking over Akami’s shoulder at his Monopad. The Ultimate Makeup Artist’s eyes began to glow with intense anger, his face turning into an indecipherable shadow.

“Yukiji… You will not sleep tonight...I will haunt you until the end of your days.” Akami said in a hushed growl, Yukiji backing away slowly.

“H-how dare you?!? How dare you threaten Yukiji’s innocent soul!” Dahlia cried out, getting in Akami’s face, snarling with rage. “I would rip your face off and feast on your blood if it wasn’t foul to the last drop!”

“Back off, Dahlia! I’m not taking any lip from a girl who can’t put her foundation on properly! YOU CALL THAT CONTOURING, BITCH!?” Akami shot back, Dahlia letting out a prolonged gasp.

“Foundation? CONTOURING?!? My skin’s eternal beauty matches the visage of a porcelain manneq-”   
  
“YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DECIDED TO DIP YOUR FACE IN OIL PAINTS! YOU HAVE SO MUCH EYESHADOW YOU CAN LIGHT A CHARCOAL GRILL!” Akami roared, drawing his brush and pointing the wooden end at Dahlia’s chest. “You stole your lips from a cow! YOUR FOUNDATION DOESN’T MATCH YOUR SKIN COLOR! I CAN SEE THE LINE THE MAKEUP ENDS ON YOUR NECK YOU IGNORANT BITCH!”

Dahlia’s eyes lit up as she grabbed the brush. “Y-you… you threaten my prince, accuse me of falsifying my undying allure and now you bring a stake upon my blackened heart! You soulless dog! Y-you foul beast! Wretched fae!” Dahlia exclaimed as Miho and Akira moved to break up a possible fight. Miho held Dahlia at bay while Akira tried to calm Akami down, taking him through some breathing exercises while Setsuki walked over.   
  
“Don’t worry so much, Akami… Freckles are cute.” Setsuki said with a goofy smile on her face.   
  
“TAKE… THAT.. BACK!!!!” Akami shouted with a hissing anger, it looked like he had claws all of a sudden, and broke free of Akira, charging at the skater girl until Kenji grabbed the rather effeminate ragebeast known formally as The Ultimate Makeup artist as he tried to make swipes at her.   
  
“RETRIBUTION!” he shouted, Kenji pushing against him while Akira tried to calm Akami down. Yukiji watched, shivering and hiding away in his shirt.

“Wh-what did I do…?” he asked, still terrified at the sight of a snarling Akami. Dahlia walked over to him, giving a warm smile.

“You did nothing wrong, Yukiji. Sakiko simply succumbed to human folly,” she said sweetly, stroking his hair. “Humans are petty creatures, driven by the fear of imperfection in their own being. But not you. Never you, my untouched angel…” she said as she twirled his pale blonde hair around her finger playfully.

“...You’re touching my head.” Yukiji said matter-of-factly. Dahlia giggled and pulled her hand away.

“I meant that you are untouched by the dark, violent urges of humanity. You are a brilliant light in the darkness of this decayed earth. A wondrous innocence in the shadows of humanity’s cruelty. You are special to me, Yukiji Chimon, in ways that no mortal can truly understand…” Dahlia said, blushing softly as Yukiji scratched at the hair behind his ear, eyes glazed over slightly.

“...Huh?” Yukiji asked, Dahlia letting out her usual laugh.

“O~hohohoho! You will understand one day, Yukiji and then you will be ready for my embrace…” Dahlia said, lovingly stroking his cheek before walking off, lifting her dress off the ground, exposing a stocking-covered leg as she made her way out of the gym, turning a come-hither eye to Yukiji, who simply tilted his head in confusion. Dahlia, mistaking this for an enraptured gaze, giggled like a schoolgirl as she passed through the door.   
  
“...I don’t get it.” Yukiji said, turning around to see the fighting had settled down somewhat. Miho had hooked her arms under Akami’s, lifting him up as he kicked and flailed in an effort to escape her hold.

“I’m… hah… I’m not done with… hah… you…” Akami said with pitched breath, his kicks slowing in frequency. “With my last breath I spit at thee...” he said, before fainting girlishly into Miho’s arms.    
  
“...A little help here?” Miho asked, feeling awkward. Akira walked over and grabbed Akami’s legs, the two carrying him out of the gym. Kenji sighed, shaking his head. This wasn't going the way he hoped. Everyone seemed to take their secrets so seriously. Seeing Akami snap at friends over something as silly as freckles…

“Hrm… hey, Yukata! What your secret, bro?” Kenji asked, Yukata looking at Kenji and sighing a bit.

“I… I don’t want to talk about it…” Yukata said, catching Kenji off guard.

“What’s up, Yukata? It really can’t be that bad, right?” Kenji said as Yukata shut off his Monopad.   
  
“Sorry, bro. It’s a bit personal for me.” Yukata said, walking away.

“But if we don’t tell each other, Monokuma’s gonna use it against us!” Kenji argued as Yukata headed for the door.

“It’s not like that. It isn’t going to make me do anything, man. Just… there’s parts of my life I don't want to remember, okay?” Yukata said as he left.

“I’m with Yukata on this one, Kenji. We’re probably better off keeping it quiet until the Monokuma Theater. If we go around passing secrets, one of us might use that against us.” Hana said. “Besides, I don’t think I wanna know people’s dark secrets, ya know?”

“But, this is all just a joke. Like, Akira’s is probably that she likes pineapple on pizza, right?” Kenji said, trying to hold a smile as Hana shook her head.

“No, there’s more to this than kid stuff. Whatever Monokuma’s got on them, it hit hard.People have secrets for a reason, they don’t want people learning about it because they would get hurt by it.” Hana said, heading off. “It’s getting late. We should get going. You comin’, Bam?” Hana asked, Bam nodding and walking off, eyes covered by his shades. Kenji looked around, seeing only Reiko left in the gym.

“Reiko, please tell me your secret is-” Kenji begged as he walked over to her, getting a death glare from Reiko in return. He backed away, letting her leave without another word. With that, it seemed that Monokuma had what he wanted. Almost everyone was on edge about their secrets and it seemed that they were willing to go to blows if they were revealed. Kenji left the gym, heading up the hall for his room. That night, he had the room to himself as Yukata never knocked, asking to come in. Kenji got up, grabbing a pillow and sheet. He headed to Yukata’s dorm room, knocking on the door.

“Yukata? You up?” Kenji asked, Yukata opening his door. His eyelids looked heavy and the spikes of his hair had fallen limp. “Hey, you want me to spend the night?” he offered, Yukata looking at him for a bit.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that.” Yukata said.

“You did that for me, right? Why not have me return the favor?” Kenji asked, Yukata shaking his head.

“It’s fine, trust me. I’m just nursing an old wound, man. I can handle.” Yukata said with a forced smile. “I’ll see ya tomorrow, Kenji.”

“Right, see ya.” Kenji said as Yukata shut the door. Kenji headed back to his room, throwing his pillow back onto the bed and dropping down onto it, leaving the sheet on the floor as he tried to sleep.


	15. Chapter 2, Daily Life 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you guys seen 'movie?'

Chapter 2: Together we are, and alone we will be (Daily Life 4)

Monokuma announcing he wished to meet everyone in the gym typically meant bad news. But Kenji just braced himself for it, getting his clothing on and making a rush to the Gym, since he wasn’t sure what time it was at the moment. 

Other students filed in, Kenji wasn’t as late as he usually was this time despite being midshower, so his hair was still dripping with water since he didn’t towel himself off yet. Kenji sat down next to Akira, looking up at the small stage of the gym. On stage, Monokuma was sitting in a director’s chair, holding a paper megaphone in one paw, and adjusting his raspberry colored beret with his other paw. 

“Director Monokuma wishes to speak to you all! Get in, settle down, no snacks or cellphones during my announcement!” He shouted into the megaphone, a projector being wheeled into the room by two smaller Monokumas as the late arrivals, this time Dahlia, Hana and Airi made their way into the room.

The lights shut off, leaving just a dim spotlight illuminating lighting monokuma, as he slowly revealed a screen the projector would shine its light upon. “Instead of the usual Monokuma banter… without further adieu… the trailer for my piece de resistance~!” He said, trying to work up a french accent. The reel on the projector began to roll, projecting a countdown on screen. 

3… 2… 1…

“Heeeeeeeeello, students!” Monokuma said, giving a tip of his beret. “If you’re watching this, I’m in a movie!... Well.. A movie trailer.” 

A deeper voiced Monokuma began to speak over footage of the remaining students in the school, Akira in her room, Kenji trying to get a candy bar out of the machine, Hana asleep on the floor, with a basketball on her head. “In a world controlled by despair… 14 students, I think…” The last bit was spoken in his usual high pitched tone, before clearing his throat and going back to the dramatic one he had.

“Will have to encounter… one of the greatest tasks of their lives. The motive… for the killing game!” He shouted, a string quartet performing a ‘dun dun dun’ sound almost perfectly timed to it. 

There was a picture of Monokuma Theater, at night. “It’s two days until Monokuma has his awesome, spectacular, super neato n’ stuff Monokuma Theater, at 4PM, he knows something the students didn’t know about their oh so mysterious pasts…” He said, trying to sound ominous, but.. It just wasn’t working with his voice. 

“He will reveal a secret about every single one of you, some might be good, some might be bad… But in order to stop it from happening… A murder must be committed!” Lightning bolts struck behind the theater, before cutting back to Monokuma’s face. 

“But… You’re not in this alone. If you can commit the murder, and escape, Monokuma will kindly give you a gift as you graduate from this academy of terror.” Narrator Monokuma spoke, before poking the screen, and going back to his normal voice.

“You get to take someone with you! They live, and you can go together! Isn’t that neat!?” He said with a tiny hop, before action music began to play and credits began to roll. 

Kenji Taisei as: Idiot Hero.

Monokuma dubbed over each students voice in video clips, to come up with a snappy quote for each of them in a mocking voice..

“Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Emi Emi Emi.” He overdubbed Kenji, offensively.

Shiro Kiruma as: Stuck-Up Douchebag

“Mmph. Hmm. Mnnnnnnrg. I hate you, you suck.” 

Bam Takahashi as: Loud Guy

“I exist!” 

Dahlia Kurotsuki as: Weird Vampire Chick.

“Spooky Scary!”

Hana Okamoto as: NBA Jam!

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Reiko Ono as: Fuck Girl

“Fuck. Fuckity fuck. Awwwww fuck! Fuckfuckfuck.”

Yukata Watanabe as: The NERD

“Nyrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” It was just a picture of Yukata making a strange face, no actual animation.

Yukiji Chimon as: Awkward Lad!

“I’m socially awkward, love me.”

Miho Ishii as: Fanservice!

“I’m naked in every scene!”

Haru Yamada and his stupid dog, as: Haru Yamada, and his stupid dog.

“Arf.” 

Akami Sakiko as: Ambiguously Girly Man!

“Oooh, pretty!”

Setsuki Yori as: The Stoner Chick.

“Dude… No wai.”

Akira Kazue as: The Justicey One.

“I like JUSTICE. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!” He shouted, photoshopping her eyes to be crossed. 

Airi Kudo as: The mysterious one in like, every single one of these movies. Seriously, that always happens.

“I’m mysterious.” 

Coming soon to a Monokuma Theater near you! Don’t you DARE MISS IT!

Then the film shut off, the lights turning back on and leaving the students confused and offended. “OH, PISS OFF!” Reiko shouted, tossing her metal folding chair at the stage. Kenji was shaking in his seat, fire in his eyes.

“Ugh, disgusting…” Shiro said as he got up, walking out of the gym.

“Hey! Hey! And where do you think you’re going, Mr. Kiruma?!?” Monokuma shouted, having already dodged Reiko’s chair.

“I have no intention of staying here while you mock me and others. The simple announcement of the additional survivor motive did not require this much time and energy wasted. If you have anything of value to say, Monokuma, say it now.” Shiro said.

“Indeed, young Kiruma brings up a good point. This presentation is gaudy, denigrating and utterly pointless. You have no secrets to reveal of us and none so dark that it would drive us to murder.” Dahlia said, waving Monokuma off before standing up herself.

“Oh no…? Are you really sure about Dahlia Kurotsuki, if that is your real name?” Monokuma said, letting out an amused snicker. “I know a lot of things you wouldn’t want to tell, and even some things you don’t remember. Are you absolutely sure you would want people knowing about that? Do you?” he asked, turning his head to the entire group, many of them glaring silently back at him.

“That’s what I thought! You have three days to commit a murder if you want to keep your secret safe! Either way, I win! A~hahahahahaha!” Monokuma said. “But to give you all a push, how about I give you something special?” he announced, a sudden blip coming in on their Monopads. They all opened theirs, many looking in shock at what they saw.

“Th-this is… how did you- how did you learn of this, Monokuma?!?” Shiro shouted, pointing a hard finger at the bear who simply laughed.

“Puhuhuhu~ You really think there’s nothing I don’t know about you? I know your secrets, your pasts, all the shames and fears you buried away and hope they would never surface! I know everything about you guys, even more than you might think~” Monokuma said, laughing heartily at their shock, anger and confusion.

“I will not stand for this! This is an outrage!” Shiro yelled, glaring furiously at Monokuma. Dahlia gritted her teeth and shut her Monopad off, body shaking with fury. Yukiji, Yukata and Hana looked distressed at what they were reading, Airi was left wide-eyed in horror before running out of the gym. Reiko’s grip on her Monopad tightened, looking like she would snap it in fury. Miho and Akira looked away from theirs and to each other. Akami looked pale, his breath becoming heavy with suppressed anger. Bam looked around the room warily, covering up his Monopad.

“...That’s it?” Kenji asked, cutting through the tension suddenly as everyone looked at him.

“Huh? What do you mean by that, Kenji?” Akira asked.

“I mean, the best he can come up with for me is that I’m afraid of cats?” Kenji said. “I mean, it’s embarrassing, but I’m not gonna kill anyone over it.” he said, shrugging.

“Look, it’s not my fault that you’re so boring! You couldn’t be a dangerous terrorist or have a relative on death’s door, could you?!? No, you had to be boring Kenji and his stupid ailurophobia!” Monokuma shouted, veins popping in his forehead. “Well, guess that’s one act off the Monokuma Theater! Good! That means more time for the real juicy stories! Puhuhuhu~” Monokuma said before finally vanishing.

“...Hey, that’s it! Kenji, you did it!” Haru said with a big, toothy grin as he clapped Kenji on the back.

“...I did? What did I do?” Kenji asked, confused as to why admitting to being afraid of cats was such a big deal.

“You weakened Monokuma’s threat by exposing yourself!” Haru said jovially.

“I did WHAT?!?” Kenji said, eyes widening.

“You exposed your secret and made it harder for Monokuma to use it against us! If we all tell our secrets, we may be able to beat him and get out of here!” Haru explained.

“Huh… you think so?” Kenji said hopefully.

“Yeah, in fact, I’ll tell ya my secret. I cry at every movie I watch. Every time.” Haru said.

“...Even the comedies?” Kenji asked.

“Yeah. Sometimes a cute character will fall down, and then everyone goes and checks on him, and he doesn’t get up right away and I just…” He said, clutching his chest and feeling a tear drop from his eye. “That gets to me, Kenji… every time!”

“Wow… that’s really something, Haru.” Kenji said, patting him on the arm as Setsuki walked over.

“Keeennnn, that was rad, standing up to Monokuma like that!” Setsuki said, raising a fist.

“Everyone says that, but I was just the first one to expose his secret. It’s just silly to be worried about something like that.” Kenji said, bumping fists with Setsuki.

“Yeah, like anyone’s gonna care if I used to stutter.” Setsuki said.

“You had a stutter?” Kenji said, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, until about 8th grade. It’d happen when I got upset, but then I mellowed out.” Setsuki admitted, Kenji finding it hard to imagine Setsuki ever being upset at anything or anyone. But this was a good sign, these dark secrets were just jokes. No one was going to hurt anyone over these, much less kill anyone.

“Everyone! Get your secrets out! Monokuma’s plan is just a trick to psych you out! We can beat him! We can-” Kenji shouted, hand clenched in a triumphant fist when Shiro spoke up.

“Just because you have a childish secret does not mean that Monokuma has presented an empty threat, Taisei.” He said calmly.

“Ah, come on, Shiro! Whatever you have to admit, it can’t be that embarrassing that-” Kenji said, trying to stay positive but Shiro once again cut him off.

“Taisei, my secret cuts down the very foundation of who I am as a person. To admit to something so openly is not an option and I refuse to allow anyone to learn it.” Shiro said coldly before leaving.

“Shiro’s right, there’s just some things that need to stay hidden, Kenji.” Akami said.

“...You have freckles, Akami?” Yukiji asked, looking over Akami’s shoulder at his Monopad. The Ultimate Makeup Artist’s eyes began to glow with intense anger, his face turning into an indecipherable shadow.

“Yukiji… You will not sleep tonight...I will haunt you until the end of your days.” Akami said in a hushed growl, Yukiji backing away slowly.

“H-how dare you?!? How dare you threaten Yukiji’s innocent soul!” Dahlia cried out, getting in Akami’s face, snarling with rage. “I would rip your face off and feast on your blood if it wasn’t foul to the last drop!”

“Back off, Dahlia! I’m not taking any lip from a girl who can’t put her foundation on properly! YOU CALL THAT CONTOURING, BITCH!?” Akami shot back, Dahlia letting out a prolonged gasp.

“Foundation? CONTOURING?!? My skin’s eternal beauty matches the visage of a porcelain manneq-”

“YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DECIDED TO DIP YOUR FACE IN OIL PAINTS! YOU HAVE SO MUCH EYESHADOW YOU CAN LIGHT A CHARCOAL GRILL!” Akami roared, drawing his brush and pointing the wooden end at Dahlia’s chest. “You stole your lips from a cow! YOUR FOUNDATION DOESN’T MATCH YOUR SKIN COLOR! I CAN SEE THE LINE THE MAKEUP ENDS ON YOUR NECK YOU IGNORANT BITCH!”

Dahlia’s eyes lit up as she grabbed the brush. “Y-you… you threaten my prince, accuse me of falsifying my undying allure and now you bring a stake upon my blackened heart! You soulless dog! Y-you foul beast! Wretched fae!” Dahlia exclaimed as Miho and Akira moved to break up a possible fight. Miho held Dahlia at bay while Akira tried to calm Akami down, taking him through some breathing exercises while Setsuki walked over.

“Don’t worry so much, Akami… Freckles are cute.” Setsuki said with a goofy smile on her face.

“TAKE… THAT.. BACK!!!!” Akami shouted with a hissing anger, it looked like he had claws all of a sudden, and broke free of Akira, charging at the skater girl until Kenji grabbed the rather effeminate ragebeast known formally as The Ultimate Makeup artist as he tried to make swipes at her.

“RETRIBUTION!” he shouted, Kenji pushing against him while Akira tried to calm Akami down. Yukiji watched, shivering and hiding away in his shirt.

“Wh-what did I do…?” he asked, still terrified at the sight of a snarling Akami. Dahlia walked over to him, giving a warm smile.

“You did nothing wrong, Yukiji. Sakiko simply succumbed to human folly,” she said sweetly, stroking his hair. “Humans are petty creatures, driven by the fear of imperfection in their own being. But not you. Never you, my untouched angel…” she said as she twirled his pale blonde hair around her finger playfully.

“...You’re touching my head.” Yukiji said matter-of-factly. Dahlia giggled and pulled her hand away.

“I meant that you are untouched by the dark, violent urges of humanity. You are a brilliant light in the darkness of this decayed earth. A wondrous innocence in the shadows of humanity’s cruelty. You are special to me, Yukiji Chimon, in ways that no mortal can truly understand…” Dahlia said, blushing softly as Yukiji scratched at the hair behind his ear, eyes glazed over slightly.

“...Huh?” Yukiji asked, Dahlia letting out her usual laugh.

“O~hohohoho! You will understand one day, Yukiji and then you will be ready for my embrace…” Dahlia said, lovingly stroking his cheek before walking off, lifting her dress off the ground, exposing a stocking-covered leg as she made her way out of the gym, turning a come-hither eye to Yukiji, who simply tilted his head in confusion. Dahlia, mistaking this for an enraptured gaze, giggled like a schoolgirl as she passed through the door.

“...I don’t get it.” Yukiji said, turning around to see the fighting had settled down somewhat. Miho had hooked her arms under Akami’s, lifting him up as he kicked and flailed in an effort to escape her hold.

“I’m… hah… I’m not done with… hah… you…” Akami said with pitched breath, his kicks slowing in frequency. “With my last breath I spit at thee...” he said, before fainting girlishly into Miho’s arms. 

“...A little help here?” Miho asked, feeling awkward. Akira walked over and grabbed Akami’s legs, the two carrying him out of the gym. Kenji sighed, shaking his head. This wasn't going the way he hoped. Everyone seemed to take their secrets so seriously. Seeing Akami snap at friends over something as silly as freckles…

“Hrm… hey, Yukata! What your secret, bro?” Kenji asked, Yukata looking at Kenji and sighing a bit.

“I… I don’t want to talk about it…” Yukata said, catching Kenji off guard.

“What’s up, Yukata? It really can’t be that bad, right?” Kenji said as Yukata shut off his Monopad.

“Sorry, bro. It’s a bit personal for me.” Yukata said, walking away.

“But if we don’t tell each other, Monokuma’s gonna use it against us!” Kenji argued as Yukata headed for the door.

“It’s not like that. It isn’t going to make me do anything, man. Just… there’s parts of my life I don't want to remember, okay?” Yukata said as he left.

“I’m with Yukata on this one, Kenji. We’re probably better off keeping it quiet until the Monokuma Theater. If we go around passing secrets, one of us might use that against us.” Hana said. “Besides, I don’t think I wanna know people’s dark secrets, ya know?”

“But, this is all just a joke. Like, Akira’s is probably that she likes pineapple on pizza, right?” Kenji said, trying to hold a smile as Hana shook her head.

“No, there’s more to this than kid stuff. Whatever Monokuma’s got on them, it hit hard.People have secrets for a reason, they don’t want people learning about it because they would get hurt by it.” Hana said, heading off. “It’s getting late. We should get going. You comin’, Bam?” Hana asked, Bam nodding and walking off, eyes covered by his shades. Kenji looked around, seeing only Reiko left in the gym.

“Reiko, please tell me your secret is-” Kenji begged as he walked over to her, getting a death glare from Reiko in return. He backed away, letting her leave without another word. With that, it seemed that Monokuma had what he wanted. Almost everyone was on edge about their secrets and it seemed that they were willing to go to blows if they were revealed. Kenji left the gym, heading up the hall for his room. That night, he had the room to himself as Yukata never knocked, asking to come in. Kenji got up, grabbing a pillow and sheet. He headed to Yukata’s dorm room, knocking on the door.

“Yukata? You up?” Kenji asked, Yukata opening his door. His eyelids looked heavy and the spikes of his hair had fallen limp. “Hey, you want me to spend the night?” he offered, Yukata looking at him for a bit.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that.” Yukata said.

“You did that for me, right? Why not have me return the favor?” Kenji asked, Yukata shaking his head.

“It’s fine, trust me. I’m just nursing an old wound, man. I can handle.” Yukata said with a forced smile. “I’ll see ya tomorrow, Kenji.”

“Right, see ya.” Kenji said as Yukata shut the door. Kenji headed back to his room, throwing his pillow back onto the bed and dropping down onto it, leaving the sheet on the floor as he tried to sleep.


	16. Chapter 2, Daily Life 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenagers always think they're cool for some reason.

Chapter 2: Together We Are, And Alone We Will Be. (Daily Life 5) 

“Man, he’s heavier than I thought…” Akira said as they lifted Akami up the stairs, moving slowly to not drop him.

“Nah, he’s just harder to carry because we’re trying not hurt him, ya know? It’s not like carrying a box full of important stuff. You’re trying harder not to sling it around and break everything.” she said. “Plus, he keeps moving. At least we’re almost to his dorm.” Miho said as they made it up the stairs and headed for the dorm rooms, stopping at Akami’s room. Akira checked his pockets, finding his Monopad and quickly unlocking his door with his Monopass. The hardest part was over as they got him off the floor and onto his bed.

“Phew! There, looks like he’s gonna be out for the night.” Akira said as they left the dorm. “I wasn’t expecting that kind of anger out of Akami. He can get a bit snappish when he’s annoyed, but it’s usually more… reserved.” she said.

“Some people take their secrets more seriously than others. You wouldn’t want your secret just said out loud like that would ya?” Miho asked.

“Well.. no, I guess not. But Yukiji didn’t mean any harm by it. I guess looks matter when someone’s ultimate ability is makeup.” 

“That and it’s a matter of trust. Akami didn’t trust anyone with his secret, so even though he and Yukiji are cool with each other, that doesn’t mean Akami’s cool with Yukiji knowing. That’s the importance of a secret. Trust.” Miho explained. “Kenji trusted all of us with his fear of cats, but that doesn’t mean we could trust him with our secrets.”

“Yeah... Kenji’s a good friend, but… but I don’t think he could handle learning my secret.” Akira said, feeling a tinge of shame. Miho put a hand on her chin in thought.

“Hm… Akira, do you trust me?” Miho asked, Akira’s eyes shooting up.

“Eh?!? Wh-what? I… well, I do… but… you won’t like hearing more about me!” Akira said, Miho nodding.

“I see… hm… maybe we could trade secrets. Just us two. Deal?” Miho asked, Akira thinking about it.

“Um… okay… but you’ve gotta tell your secret first!” Akira said, pointing at Miho. Miho laughed and nodded.

“Sure, just promise you won’t put me in your cell when you hear it. So, your dorm or mine?” Miho said, playfully winking at Akira.  
“Wh-what?!?” Akira said, blushing a bit.

“Well, we can’t just trade secrets in the hall, our dorms are soundproofed so we can talk all we want and no one will bother us.” Miho said, giggling and grabbing Akira’s hand. “Now come on, ya dork.” she said as she dragged Akira off.

“Ack! W-wait! Miho!” Akira said, trying to get her hand free as Miho brought them to her room, unlocking the door. Once inside, she let go of Akira as she was pulling away. Akira fell and hit the bed bed. “Whoa! Did you have to throw me?” Akira griped.

“You let go.” Miho replied as she shut the door, Akira sitting herself up on the bed. “Now, where do I start? Hm… you ever heard of the Kuzuryuu clan?” she asked. The name sounded familiar to Akira, who grabbed the brim of her hat in thought

“Is it… the Yakuza group? I think the chief mentioned them around the office a few times” Akira guessed, Mho smiling.

“That’s the one. The clan’s been around since the 60’s, usually the son of the current leader will be the new leader unless they’re weak. And they’ve been influencing the country in a lot of places. They’ve gotten their people into seats on the Japanese Diet, put spies in the police force and… they helped fund STARSTRUCK.” Miho said.

“STARSTRUCK? The wrestling company you work for?” Akira asked.

“Yeah, it’s my dad’s company. I guess you could say wrestling’s been in my blood. But after I first became Queen of the Stars, he took me backstage to shake hands with the leader of the Kuzuryuu clan.” Miho said, Akira letting out a gasp.

“He didn’t… do anything, did he?” Akira asked, fearing the worst possible answer.

“Oh no, he was an absolute gentleman. Actually, he was more like a hopeless fanboy, breathlessly recapping the entire match and talking about how cool it was. He was such a dork… but it was hard to take learning that all my hard work was lining the pockets of criminals. I almost quit wrestling, but dad talked me out of it. He said he was just going to pay back the debt he owed, and the fact I’d inspire fans around the world would protect me and him from harm, since we’d be in the spotlight.” Miho said.

“Did you ever pay off the debt?” Akira asked.

“Yeah… but dad made friends with people in the clan, so even if they’re not sponsoring us, I still see members with front row seats. It’s like I can’t get rid of them.” Miho said, frowning.

“You can’t just quit STARSTRUCK?” Akira suggested, Miho looking at her with shocked disgust.

“Quit STARSTRUCK? When I’m their biggest draw? Leaving would hurt my father, and the fans would ask questions like ‘why did his daughter quit on him?’ I can’t do that. Plus, everyone in that locker room have been my closest friends. They’re my family, Akira! You don’t just walk out on family like that!” Miho said, hands balled into fists. Akira backed away slightly.

“W-whoa! Calm down, Miho. It was just an idea! I-I didn’t think-” Akira said holding up her hands, Miho sighing and shooting a friendly smile.

“Damn it, Akira. You’re too cute when you’re flustered, I can’t stay mad at you…” she said warmly. “So, now you know my secret. How about yours?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… well, I wasn’t always this.. What’s the word for it?” Akira said.

“Cute?” Miho teased, Akira’s face heating up.

“What?!? N-no! Not cute! Damn it! Why do you keep calling me that?!” Akira shouted, trying to look tough through her red face.

“Just calling it as I see, Akira.” Miho said, laughing. “Anyway, so you weren’t always, lemme guess… weren’t always the good cop?”

“Uh… yeah, I was actually a bit of a troubled kid. I wasn’t like, Reiko bad, but I used to carry a butterfly knife around start fights with people.” Akira started, remembering how she used to dress in a huge jacket bigger than herself and a backwards hat. “I’d shoplift, pickpocket and tag places. My tag was AK-13, because it was my initials and my age.” Akira explained.

“...Wow, you were a dork even when you were street tough.” Miho said with a smirk.

“Shut up! I was a teenager, okay?!? You saying you weren’t lame when you were a teenager?” Akira shot back, Miho laughing and leaning against the wall.

“Oh no, I’m sure there’s some videos of me wrestling with my friends in my backyard on the trampoline that I want to be destroyed. Heh, if it weren’t for the whole Yakuza connection, I bet that’s what Monokuma would be using against me.” Miho said. “Anyway, so the Ultimate Police Cadet was a delinquent. What changed things around for you?”

“Well, it all started when I tried to steal a car. It was this classic sports car, the paint job was a deep purple. I saw it and thought ‘Oh, hell yeah! I’m gonna be a highway star in this baby!’ and so I picked the lock with my knife, hotwired it, got it running, put it in drive… and I lost control instantly. It was in the high school parking lot, so when I lost control, the car slammed through the wall and into a classroom…” Akira said, looking away from Miho.

“Oh… did anyone get hurt?” Miho asked.

“Well, myself for starters. And a few students near the window. Thankfully, no one died but as soon as I was out of the hospital, I was hauled off to Juvie for two years. That’s where I really started to see how I was wasting my life. I was alive, I survived that crash, right? So, there had to be more for me than mugging folks and stealing cars. I had to take this chance and run with it so once I was out, I signed up to join the force.” Akira said, letting off a small happy smile.

“...Is that why you’re so uptight about procedure and reputation?” Miho said.

“I always get worried I’ll like.. revert back to being a delinquent. I know it means I can be a bit of a buzzkill. To be honest, and don’t you dare tell Yukiji this or it’ll give him ideas, but I really liked going down that trash chute.” Akira said sheepishly. Miho put a hand on Akira’s shoulder.

“You aren’t gonna go back to being a delinquent if you have a bit of fun once or twice. You’re a good cop, Akira. You just gotta remember to cut loose once in a while.” Miho said, pulling Akira into a hug.

“Ack! M-Miho!” Akira exclaimed, trying to escape the sudden hug.

“Nope. You’re getting the huggage. It’s happening, Akira.” Miho said, holding Akira tight. Akira stopped squirming after a while and began to return the hug.

“Hey, Miho? Thanks for listening.” Akira said.

“No problem. You’re not gonna arrest me and interrogate me for having Yakuza ties, are you?” Miho said, letting go.

“Miho, if I wanted to do that, I would’ve taken you to my room.” Akira said with a playful wink, getting off the bed to leave.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Miho asked.

“...My dorm? It’s getting late, ya know.” Akira said.

“Yeah, but my offer from a couple of days ago still stands.” Miho replied, leaving space on the bed for Akira.

“Your offer from… oh! But wait, wasn’t that just because the doors were unlocked?” Akira asked.

“Well, yeah… but if you ever feel scared, the door’s always open.” Miho said, beaming. Akira smiled back.

“Sure thing. Seeya tomorrow.” Akira said, waving goodbye to Miho before heading to her dorm.


	17. Chapter 2, Daily Life 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go to jail.

Chapter 2: Together we are, and alone we will be (Daily life 6)

Ding Dong, Bing Bong.

“Goooooooood morning, students! It is 7 AM, and a start to another beautiful day! Remember, only one day until Monokuma Theater! Be there, or be square!” He announced, waking Kenji from his slumber. 

He sighed, getting out of bed, and setting the covers before heading out of the room and downstairs to get some breakfast. The fact that Monokuma wanted someone to die before his little theater floated in his head and made him nervous, but when he got to the cafeteria, he felt a sense of ease come over him as he approached his three friends he typically spends his time with. 

It seemed like that mornings breakfast was a simple plate of pancakes, coated in maple syrup and a side of bacon. Kenji got his serving and a glass of milk before sitting across from Yukata, who currently had a mouth full of pancake. “Sup, Kenji.” He said, Kenji greeting him with a cautious smile on his face looking at him. 

“Not much, just been thinking since last night, I feel like it might be a good idea to check out the theater and get the layout of it, in case someone is planning on using it for a murder.” Kenji said, cutting into his pancake with a plastic fork while Yukata got a concerned on his face.

“Do we really have to go into the subject of a murder already? I’d rather just… trust any of us not to do it.” Yukata complained, still a bit flustered by the whole situation.

“I want to believe in my friends, I do… But I just want to make sure I know everything about that theater, just in case.” Kenji said, casually drinking some of his milk. “If anyone wants to come with me, that’s fine, but regardless I’ll head out at about 10 A.M.” He spoke matter of factly, Haru feeding Kiko a treat as Kenji laid out his plan. 

“Just try n’ be safe, dude. We don’t know if one of us is secretly losing it over a dumb secret. I don’t want to see you pinned to a tree just because you went out by yourself.” Haru said, Kiko rolling over so he can gently scratch her tummy.

“I’ll go with you.” Yukata said, pointing a fingerless gloved thumb at himself and giving him a trademark smirk. Kenji smiled back, glad to have some backup.

“Thanks, Yukata. How about you, Hana?” Kenji asked.

“Can’t. Gonna be playing a few games with Setsuki later, she’s trying to help me get back into training.” Hana said, Kenji doubting that she needed it all that much after stomping him so thoroughly the day before.

“Well, Kiko can probably sniff out anything dangerous.” Haru offered.

“Alright. We’ll meet up at 10. Have fun with practice, Hana.” Kenji said, Hana giving a thumbs up.

A few hours passed, Kenji checking the map of the campus to see that the Theater was still blurred out for him. The fact his map wasn’t complete yet bothered him. He made his way down the road to the Monokuma Theater. To say it was gaudy would be an understatement. 

It was a red matinee style theater, styled with black, white and red, with Monokuma’s big wooden cutout holding the now playing board in his paws. It was quite a bit bigger than he expected, he guessed it could hold at least a few hundred people just from looking at the outside of it.

“Figures.” Kenji said, hands tucked into his pockets as Yukata approached him from a distance. 

“Sorry for being late, was just putting on new sleeves for my cards. They’ll dogear if I don’t do that.” Yukata said, stopping and looking at the theater as he caught his breath. “You ever think that Monokuma has a bit of an ego problem?” Yukata asked jokingly.

“If he does, he’s pretty subtle about it.” Kenji said, the two laughing as they headed in. The entrance had a small lobby, with a prop Monokuma selling tickets to a conveyor belt of Monokumas buying the tickets, grabbing buckets of popcorn and going through a tiny pair of double doors out of the scene. Kenji looked around, the floor was coated in tacky velvet, and the whole place smelled like stale popcorn.

“Iiiit’s a bit of a fixer-upper. Haven’t had a lot of shows put on what with setting up the Killing Game, overseeing the trials, execution prep. Didja know I have all your executions set up based on your gimmicks? I have to switch them on the fly for who’s actually guilty.” Monokuma said as he appeared before them. Kenji’s nerves tightened at the sound of that boorish, high pitched voice. Hearing that he had sixteen brutal, painful ends prepared for all of them… it made his stomach churn.

“But don’t go asking what your executions are! That would be a waste, the whole point is shock and surprise and terror! I mean, what’s the fun of going through a mystery if someone just tells you who the killer is and how they killed their victim? Ah, listen to me! I’m just rambling to you when I should be giving you a proper greeting! Welcome to… MONOKUMA THEATER!” Monokuma said proudly, arms outstretched.

Yukata pulled at Kenji’s sleeve a bit. “Ignore him, he’s just trying to distract us.” he said, Kenji nodding and following him as they looked around the entrance hall of the theater.

“Oh? And what are you two doing here?” Monokuma asked, following them curiously. “The show’s not for another day!”

“Well, you were so proud of this place, we figured we’d check it out.” Kenji said.

“Hm? Ahhh, I see. You two are planning a murder, then! Gonna see about taking your bro out of this school for graduation, Kenji?” He asked, pointing an accusing finger.

“We’re not trying to kill anybody. We’re… death-proofing the building by inspecting the layout.” Kenji said, smacking Monokuma’s hand awa. “We wanna make sure you haven’t set up any more traps. Besides, I’m not a killer.” he said firmly, Monokuma letting out a soft chuckle.

“Puhuhuhuhuhu~ We’ll see how long that holds out, Taisei.” he said before vanishing. Kenji unclenched his fists and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Just take it easy, Kenji. He’s trying to get in your head.” Yukata said, patting Kenji on the back. He nodded softly, walking to the theater room entrance and revealing it in its entirety. It looked like a small opera house. Rows of seats surrounding a inset stage, the whole inner building resembled a clam shell, to amplify the sounds coming from the stage, just in front of the front row seats was a orchestra pit, leading to the large raised stage covered with two red curtains. 

The lighting was dark, Kenji grabbed the rail on the stairway to the center stage just to make sure he didn’t trip on any Monokumas that Monokuma left around, he didn’t want to die from tripping on the stairs, anything but that.

Yukata whistled. “Wow, this place is big. Do you think they had any huge stage plays happen here? Oh! Maybe they dueled each other in front of the crowd!” He said with a smile, but Kenji shook his head.

“I don’t think people play card games on a stage, Yukata.” he said, Yukata frowning in annoyance.

“You don’t know that! I’ve dueled on stage before!” Yukata said, Kenji chuckling before approaching the stage, climbing one of the flanked staircases onto the stage. He looked at the curtains, seeing they were old and thinning in some places, coated in a plush layer of linen that felt smooth to the touch. Behind the curtains, each side was attached to a sandbag, which allowed them to open much faster than pushing them.

He lifted up the red curtain, seeing very little in the dark. He squinted his eyes, spotting a thick black shape near the ceiling, looking like an obsidian log in the darkness. “Huh? What is that?” Kenji thought aloud. “Hey, Yukata! Take a look at this!” he called, Yukata coming from the pit and climbing up the stage.

“What’s up? You find something?” Yukata asked.

“Yeah, some sort of big tube up there. What’s that for?” Kenji said, pointing to it.

“Huh… no idea.” Yukata said, shrugging. “Everything around here looks to be safe. There’s nothing in here that’s dange- OHHOLYSHIT!” He screamed, his voice leaping up about two octaves in sheer fear. He fell on his butt, turning pale and scrambling away from the curtain as he began to sweat beads, pointing a finger up to the curtain as Kenji looked at him in concern. 

“Kenji! K-kenjiiii!” Yukata shrieked out, shaking and hyperventilating.

“What is it, Yukata? Did you see something?” Kenji asked, worrying that Monokuma had someone stalking the theater, ready to attack at his command.

“I-I saw a shadow at the end of the catwalk! T-there’s something up there!” Yukata shouted, pointing further. As Kenji looked up, a light metallic clicking rung out through the stage.

Tink! Tink! Tink!

“There it is! It’s moving! This theater is haaaauuunted!” Yukata screamed, drawing back further.

Tink! Tink! Tink!

“Oh grandpa, forgive me! I should have just helped you run your cafe! Please don’t enact your vengeance upon me!” Yukata cried, hands clasped in frantic prayer. Kenji looked for something to defend himself if the shadow moving along the catwalk had come after them. The shadow came to a stop, turning toward them. Two bright red dots pierced through the darkness… eyes staring down at them.

“It’s looking at us! It wants to take our souls! Don’t look at it directly, Kenji!” Yukata shouted, covering his eyes. Kenji kept looking at the shadow, breath steady as a nervous sweat began to form along his forehead. The shadow drew closer to them, an arm taking form with a clawed hand grasping the rail. The shadow lifted itself onto the rail, perching itself there. The clawed hand lifted closer to its face, at least what Kenji hoped was its face. And then came the all-too familiar sound of laughter, echoing through the stage. A high, false laugh.

“Ooooooooooohohohohoho~!” Dahlia laughed and laughed, it sounded like the loudest Kenji ever heard her laugh, or maybe it just started to get on his nerves. Yukata simply let out a shriveled whimper in the highest pitch of his voice.

“Dahlia… what are you doing up there?” Kenji asked.

“Ohhh, young Taisei! Have you never read the history of my kind? A theater draws vampires like a moth to a flame~ The rustic, dark atmosphere… the drama, the feeling of watching over a mass of lemmings knowing your superiority~ It’s my haven, my sanctuary, my solace!” Dahlia said dreamily, chin resting in the palms of her hands. Kenji sighed and shook his head, turning to Yukata.

“You can relax, Yukata. It’s just Dahlia and her… whatever she does.” Kenji said, turning to see Yukata’s face drained of complexion, eyes rolled back as a shade of blue began to from on his skin.

“No… not you! Anyone but you!” Yukata said, pointing at Dahlia with a shaking hand.

“Young Watanabe, I’m hurt. I thought you were a chivalrous gentleman after sheltering me from the harsh rays of sunlight. You saved my life that day and I do owe you a debt of gratitude! But you reject my every offer to turn you into one of my thralls!” Dahlia said in a sorrowful whine.

“You keep trying to bite me! And my name is Yukata!” he shouted back, Dahlia crossing her arms and turning her nose up at him.

“You are Watanabe to me because your life is so miniscule. What is another fifty or sixty years to one who has lived for centuries? Only Yukiji will live beyond you!” Dahlia said, turning herself around on the catwalk, back facing the students below her. “Young Taisei, what brings you to this wonderful place? Come to appreciate the beauty of the arts? Or… oh, yes…” Dahlia said, curling her fingers to her chin and lips.

“Plotting a murrrrrrrrrr~derrrrrrrrr~?” She said, with strange emphasis, and a fake accent on the word murder.

“What?!? No! Why does everyone keep thinking I’m gonna kill someone?!?” Kenji said, pulling at his hair. Dahlia flipped herself upside-down, legs hooked on the catwalk’s handrail, using her high heels for leverage.

“Then perhaps you have heard the whispers of the night calling to you. The siren’s song of blood that drew you to seek comfort in my bosom. It is my harshest curse to have such ethereal beauty. Poor mortal men like you fall for me every year. Young virgin boys, world-weary older men, the brokenhearted, the romantics, the submissives and dominants. And they all fall to an early grave… it’s an endless tragedy.” Dahlia said morosely, gesturing even while hanging from the catwalk.

“Kenji… How is she a people?” Yukata asked, still baffled at what he was seeing.

“...Person, Yukata.” Kenji corrected. “Dahlia… we’re here to inspect the theater. We wanna make sure no one uses it for murder.” he explained to Dahlia, Yukata curling up into a fetal position.

“Ahh, yes… you were discussing the fire curtain. It serves a useful purpose to both our kinds. It prevents the spread of fire to the main stage, since it’s entirely made of antique cherry, mixed in with occasional strips of maple wood~ The whole opera house would burn down without it!” Dahlia cried.

“...It’s a theater.” Yukata said from the ground.

“I desire it to be an opera house! I want my opera house~ I want there to be an opera!” Dahlia said, swinging from the catwalk with a hum, her long pure white curls of hair gently bouncing with her movements upside down. 

“So, it stops fires from spreading, letting people escape easier?” Kenji asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from Dahlia’s fantasies.

“Indeed! It’s very heavy, and lined with metal. They probably kept it wrapped up there so it wouldn’t get in the way of the main curtain. I must say, it is a wonderful contraption! Without it, I would’ve roasted in the flames of a freak fire during a performance of Macbeth!” she said.

“Damn it, she’s informative but why can’t she just be a normal lady…Like Akira or Setsuki or something” Yukata muttered, clutching his knees on the floor.

“So, you know a lot about this theater? You mind showing us around?” Kenji asked.

“Of course! But in exchange, I ask for your assistance in finding Yukiji!” Dahlia ordered.

“Yukiji? You’re still stalking him?” Yukata asked, Dahlia letting out an offended gasp.

“I was not stalking Yukiji! I saw him pass through the theater and he had vanished into thin air! I fear that we may have lost that poor creature to the darkness! Taisei and Watanabe! I, Dahlia Kurotsuki, the Ultimate Vampiress, implore you to help meeeeeeeeAAAAHHHH!” Dahlia screamed as she began to fall. Kenji rushed into action, dropping to his knees and sliding to catch Dahlia. She crashed onto him, kicking up a large amount of old dust from the theater.

“A-are you guys okay!?” Yukata exclaimed, getting up and running over to them. Kenji was on the floor, Dahlia sat on top of him, shaking in panic.

“Ah! I was foolish! I spoke its name! I brought the curse upon myself!” Dahlia cried.

“...What? What name?” Yukata said.

“The Bard’s Play! Those who speak its name in a theater bring disaster upon themselves!”

“Huh? You mean Mac-” Kenji said, slightly dazed. His words were cut off as Dahlia clapped a hand around his mouth.

“Shhh! Do not speak the name or you will be cursed as well!” Dahlia warned, drawing close to Kenji’s face. Kenji’s eyes widened as Dahlia became uncomfortably close to him. After a long period of silence, Dahlia gave him a tender kiss on the forehead. “Your reward, young Taisei…. Ah, Watanabe. Your stare tells me so much… does this hurt you? To see Taisei claim my favor that you have yearned since our exploration of the western wing? To know that for all your kindness, all your chivalry, that your closest friend has come closer to becoming my thrall than you have with a simple act?” Dahlia said as she stroked Kenji’s face with her fingers.

“...What are you even -talking- about?!? Was that even -words-?!?” Yukata said, holding his head. “How did you even come to that conclusion?!?”

“Dahlia… could you get off me?” Kenji asked, feeling her knees dig into his chest. She quickly jumped up, pushing off Kenji with her feet, hitting him in the gut as she leaped back. Dahlia landed on the floor, giving a graceful bow. Kenji groaned as he got up. “Thanks… so, we should probably take a look around, right? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.” he said, Dahlia giving a soft chuckle.

“Yes, we shall continue your journey through the theater. Watanabe, be a dear and fetch my heels. These stockings tear at the slightest snag and this floor is filthy.” Dahlia said in a commanding tone. Yukata grumbled and headed for the catwalk. It took Yukata longer than he wanted to yank the black stilettos from their lodging in the catwalk. Not helped by Dahlia shouting at him. “No no no! Be gentle with them! If you snap the heel, I will drive it into your skull!” she called from the floor. Yukata growled and tossed the heels down to her, getting more shrieks about scuffing them. Dahlia slipped her feet back into them, glaring up at Yukata before turning to Kenji with a smile.

“Now then, where would you like to go first, my knights?” Dahlia asked.

“...Knights?” Kenji asked, tilting his head at Dahlia. “Uh… onward… to… the… room over here.” he said, pointing to the left of backstage, a door lit from behind. Dahlia nodded and lead the way, stopping Yukata as they walked.

“Ah, not you, Watanabe. You wish to curry favor with me as Taisei had. To be regarded as worthy to be my thrall. So I shall offer you a chance.” Dahlia said wistfully, Yukata letting out a heavy sigh.

“...Are you real?” he asked, Dahlia ignoring his question.

“I ask that you head right so that we may cover more ground in finding Yukiji. I will reward you greatly for his safe return.” Dahlia said, Yukata rolling his eyes and shrugging.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll catch up with you later, Kenji.” Yukata said before heading for the right backstage door. Kenji followed Dahlia through the door on the left. Inside was a room with racks of costumes and a table surrounded by mirrors. On the table was a small array of brushes, lipstick tubes, powders and other cosmetics. Behind the makeups were three mannequin heads with wigs resting on them.

“I assume you know which room this is, young Taisei?” Dahlia asked, Kenji thinking of the rooms you’d find in a theater.

“Yeah, this is the dressing room, right?” Kenji said, Dahlia smiling and nodding.

“Very good. This room is where performers change into costume, put on makeup and don wigs. I have journeyed through this room for spare dressing, but alas, there was nothing befitting a lady of the evening such as myself.” Dahlia lamented, Kenji looking around the room for anything that looked off. Thankfully, it looked to just be a dressing room.

“So, why go to a dressing room for clothes? Don’t you have clothes in your dorm?” he asked.

“Simply wishing to expand my wardrobe. One cannot simply wear the same thing for all eternity. I do have my preferred taste, of course. But none of these garbs can match my elegance very well. A shame that we did not have an Ultimate Seamstress enroll with us…” Dahlia said as she left the room. Kenji followed suit as they headed to the left door.

Inside, Yukata was checking every box of props inside the room for hidden weapons, finding nothing. During his search, he heard a sudden rattling from one of the boxes. Yukata let out a yelp, turning his head and shooting his eyes around the room, seeing the rattling box once more. He slowly approached the box, dreading that there really was some sort of monster or psycho waiting to pounce. He lifted the lid of the box and peered inside, seeing a large foam dinosaur head rise from its contents.

Yukata let out a scream as the dinosaur head poked up, revealing inside the dinosaur’s open mouth was Yukiji’s bored, slightly sleepy looking face. “Wha? Who’s shouting…?” He said, rubbing his dino-head as Yukata glared at him with his bugged out eyes.

“Yu-Yukiji! What are you doing in there?!?” Yukata exclaimed.

“...I was sleeping.” Yukiji said.

“...”

“... You were in a prop box, in the theater, asleep.” Yukata said, not believing what he was saying as he said it.

“I was hiding from Dahlia in here. It was comfy, so I put on the dinosaur head and went to sleep.” Yukiji explained, dino-head flopping over his face. “Is Dahlia still here?” he asked before hearing the sound of her laughter from the halls.

“Get back in the box, I’ll cover for you.” Yukata said, Yukiji sinking back into the box while Yukata closed the lid. The prop room door swung open, Dahlia and Kenji walking in. “Hey guys, anything in the other room?” Yukata asked.

“Just a dressing room. You alright? We heard you screaming.” Kenji said.

“Oh nothing, just… saw a spider. Like a big ugly one, it looked like a velociraptor.” Yukata said, struggling to come up with a good lie, Kenji picking up on it easily. Dahlia’s eyes lit up and she nearly slammed her head into Yukata’s as she leaned in close, looking positively giddy.

“Oh~ Do tell, Watanabe! I have been hoping to claim an arachnid familiar! Hrm.. perhaps it has nested in the forest of your hair!” Dahlia said, Yukata’s eyes going wide in terror.

“Wh-what?!? Where?!? Get it out!” Yukata said, shaking his spiked hair, running his hands through it in hopes of getting rid of the spider he had made up. Dahlia looked through Yukata’s hair for the spider while Kenji watched this unfold in disbelief, Yukata got tricked by his own lie. As he began looking around the prop room, seeing box after box of various cheap stage props. He walked over to the box Yukata had stood by, reaching for the lid and ready to lift it.

“Kenji!” suddenly came the voice of Akira as she stepped through the door frame.

“Huh? Akira? What are you-” Kenji began to ask as she got up close to him, hand near a pair of cuffs.

“Alright, where is it?” Akira asked, eyes steeled with determination. “You violated our promise, and you’ll be placed into holding for questioning! Hands against the wall, Taisei! You’re under arrest under the authority of the Kyoto police.” 

“What? I’m getting arrested!?” Kenji exclaimed as Akira put him against the wall and cuffed him.

“For questioning, people get arrested for questioning all the time. Also, shut up.” Akira said, dragging Kenji by the arm.

“I want a lawyer!” Kenji shouted as he was dragged away

“If you can find one, you can use him.”


	18. Chapter 2, Daily Life 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is he dressed like a Dinosaur?

Chapter 2: Together we are, And alone we will be. (Daily Life 7)   
  
Kenji didn’t think he would be the first person locked away in the cell in Akira’s lab. Sitting behind a door of bulletproof glass, with a little speaker on it so Akira can speak through the locked door. The walls were lined with stone, and an annoyingly warm lamp was shining on his head, making it sweat, he was sat on a creaky stool, with one leg slightly too short to not shift it every couple seconds.   
  
“Where is it, Kenji?” Akira asked through the speaker, cup of coffee in her other hand as she stared him down.

“Where’s what? I don’t know what I did!” Kenji said, trying to keep balance on the stool.

“You took Emi’s keycard! I checked my hiding spot for it, and it was missing. No one but you would want to get into her lab, I didn’t even tell you where I hid it, that was our secret, Kenji. How could you?” Akira asked, hurt by his betrayal.

“What?!? It’s gone missing? How did it-” Kenji said, alarmed before Akira cut him off, going back to bad cop as she threw her coffee cup at the cell wall, but only after drinking the coffee in one chug.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Taisei! I told you to stay out of Emi’s lab! Hand over the keycard and I’ll let you out!” she barked out, glaring hard at Kenji.

“Oooooh~ Got yourself a little dungeon boy, Akira? I didn’t think you were….Such a degenerate~!” Monokuma said as he popped up, red in the face and sweating. Akira reached for a taser on her desk, pointing it at Monokuma.

“You dare enter a investigation? That’s tampering with due process!” she said, buzzing the taser by turning it on. “I’m not allowing justice to be impeded.” Akira warned.

“Well, as much as I want Kenji to be locked away for his own good, I’m here to clear his name! Save the day! Be the hero! Kenji, I’m your Hucklebeary!” Monokuma exclaimed, Kenji staring at the sight in front of him with annoyance and confusion.

“...What?” Akira said, pulling her taser back.

“You see, the real injustice isn’t Kenji ‘stealing’ Emi’s keycard! No, the real thief here is you, Akira Kazue!” Monokuma said, claws outstretched as he pointed a finger at her.

“Wh-what?!? No! I’m the Ultimate Police Cadet! Everything I do is in the pursuit of justice! I didn’t steal any-” Akira said before Monokuma turned around, seeming to reach for something before turning around a flashing a keycard in front of Akira. Emi’s keycard. “Hey! So it was you! What are you doing with-” she objected before Monokuma spoke up.

“Like I said, you’re the thief! You hid this card in your bathroom! In the toilet backbowl, no less! There are rules against bringing keycards out of the labs!” Monokuma roared, bringing the room to silence.

“Huh?” Akira said, confused. 

“The keycards are supposed to stay in the labs. When you leave the lab, you’re supposed to put them back on the table at the entrance in that little handbasket!” Monokuma shouted.

“Well, I knew that! But Emi’s keycard doesn’t belong to anyone! I don’t see why-” Akira began, Monokuma growling with a vein popping in his head.

“Procedure, Kazue! If we let people just take things and put them wherever we want, then we may as well not have any rules! The keycard can stay in your lab, but it can’t leave the lab building! Got it?” Monokuma said, throwing Emi’s keycard onto Akira’s desk.

“...Fine.” Akira grumbled, turning to free Kenji from the cell, before the door to the lab got kicked open by Reiko, the look on her face indecipherable by Akira. Kenji quickly got up, holding his door shut for his own safety.    
  
“CAN SOMEONE TELL ME JUST WHO IN THE  **FUCK ** TOOK MY BASEBALL BAT!?” She said, punching Akira’s wall on that particular shout of her favorite curse, her voice echoing in all the halls. Akira let out a nervous squeak.

“Hmmm? What’s this~? There’s all sorts of thieving going on around here! Stolen keycards, stolen bats, why someone’s probably going to steal my heart… if I had one! Kyahahahaha~” Monokuma said, cackling before Reiko charged up to him.

“Oh, FUCK OFF, Teddy Grahams! You better not have my bat or I’m gonna grind your little pansy ass until you look like you’re pillow fluff, you little teddy BITCH!” Reiko shouted, eyes burning with rage. Akira just whimpered, twiddling her fingers together awkwardly like she was in her friend’s house, and the parents were arguing.

“W-well, when you put it like that… nope! Haven’t seen your bat anywhere! Sorry! Puhuhuhu~” Monokuma said with a fit of giggles before vanishing. Reiko growled, punching hard on Akira’s desk, knocking her mugs and coffee machine off, only to be caught by a whimpering Akira.   
  
“Shh.. shh… You’re safe, Mr Coffee… Go to your home.” She said in the weakest voice imaginable, putting the coffee machine and mugs back in their place gingerly.

“I’ll turn your teeth into a coffee machine if you don’t give me back my bat!” Reiko shouted, Kenji watching from the safety of his cell, mouthing his confusion at what he was seeing. Akira pushed down on the brim of her hat.   
  
“No one threatens my coffee.” She said in a hushed, determined voice.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about me, Akira. I’m fine.” Kenji said, unheard from inside the cell. Akira walked up to Reiko, lifting her head to lock eyes with the Ultimate School Delinquent.

“I don’t have your bat, Reiko. And if you keep up this behavior, I’ll lock you up!” Akira said, Kenji holding up his hands and shaking his head frantically.    
  
“No no no no nononononono” Kenji said, voice muffled from being in the holding cell.    
  
“Then… Who in the shit has it!?” Reiko shouted.

“I don’t know… but I’m gonna find out! Akira said, turning back to freeing Kenji. “Come on, Kenji! We’ve got a bat to find!” she said as she pulled Kenji out of the cell.

“W-wait! We’re doing what?!?” Kenji said as Akira dragged him from her lab.

“We’re going to find Reiko’s bat! Tensions are high and a weapon like that going missing is too dangerous to leave unattended. We’ll travel in a group, and search all the labs, students consenting.” Akira explained, Reiko sighing and gritting her teeth.   
  
“Fine, but whoever did it is gonna get the bat between their ears so they can wash their brain with it.” she said as she caught up with the two. They walked along the left hall, spotting Airi staring at her door in consternation.

“Hey, Airi. What’s up?” Akira asked, Airi walking up and pushing her hand against the door of the lab.   
  
“Someone’s misplaced my keycard. I can’t get inside this lab.” she explained.

“Monokuma said they’re at the front door, right?” Kenji said.

“It wasn’t there. Believe me, I checked.” Airi replied, running her hand along the door. She was trying to find a weak spot. A way to break down the door, with a deftness as she checked the screws and bolts on the door, before leaning down to see if she could remove the panel from the door’s card scanner.   
  
“Hey! Airi! You see my fucking bat anywhere?!?” Reiko shouted.

“No. I’ve never seen your bat since today started, what purpose would I need your bat for?” Airi said.

“Monokuma’s going around and telling all our secrets n’ shit, maybe you’re trying to get your murder on!” Reiko shouted, pointing a finger at Airi as she inspects her door.   
  
“While my secret isn’t something I want anyone to hear, I bear no ill intent. My focus is on getting everyone out of here, so please stop slinging baseless accusations, Ms. Ono.” She said, not even turning back to her.    
  
“I assume it would be ill advised for me to break this lock. Perhaps I could ask Monokuma for a spare, or to help me locate where it is.” Airi muttered.

“You really think Monokuma’s gonna help you? I mean, he’d probably just tell you to find your keycard yourself just because he’d think it’s funny.” Kenji said.   
  
“Here ya go.” Monokuma said, leaning over to Airi and handing her the keycard.   
  
“W-what!?” Kenji shouted in surprise.   
  
“She asked. Is it that hard?” Monokuma said. “But… I won’t say where I got it! Where’s the fun in that?” he said before vanishing. Airi quickly used the sudden distraction of Monokuma to run into her lab, Reiko reaching for the door as it locked again.   
  
“...I don’t know else I thought she was gonna do.” Akira said as Reiko banged on the door.

“HEY! OPEN UP! STOP BEING A BITCH! GIMME MY FUCKING BAT!” Reiko shouted, Airi opening the door a crack.    
  
“I don’t have your bat, and it isn’t in this room. I highly advise you direct your anger into actually searching for your bat.” Airi said, shutting the door. No one had ever seen the Ultimate Lucky Students lab. Would it be a casino? Maybe a garden full of four leaf clovers, and the number 7?   
  
“Let’s not worry about possibilities, Reiko. We should just focus on eliminating other options.” Akira said, putting a hand to her chin.

“You mind if I get back to the theater? I was kind of looking around when I got arrested.” Kenji said while that last word sank in.

“Fine, fine….” Akira said, embarrassed. Kenji tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweater, marching off and leaving Akira with Reiko, in the middle of searching.    
  
“I’m really worried someone will use that bat… I don’t want any violence in that theater.” Akira mused, Reiko overhearing it as she tried to get another door open by force. The door opened to show Hana.

“Oi! Quit banging on the door! You’re killing the Mojo!” Hana shouted, glaring up at Reiko.

“You got my bat, ya little shit?!?” Reiko shouted, Hana’s eyes lighting    
  
“I MIGHT BE LITTLE BUT I CAN TAKE YOU TO SLAM CITY, CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF SLAM!” Hana shouted, clearly set off by the L word that Reiko used. “BASEBALL IS FOR CHUMPS, IT’S B-BALL TOWN IN HANA’S HOUSE AND THAT B AINT NO BASE!” She screamed, Akira looking behind her with a look of frustration.   
  
Airi’s door opened again, just a crack. “Shh! I’m reading.” She spoke sternly, then the door closed again.   
  


“Oh, you wanna go?!?” Reiko shot back at Hana, cracking her knuckles.

“No! Nobody wants to go! We are not fighting! I am having NONE of that while I’m alive in this university!” Akira said, stepping between the two of them with newfound authority in her voice, hands pushing on both their shoulders. Hana began to take deep breaths.

“I’m calm, I’m calm… I’m cool now. But yeah, Setsuki and I have been doing ups since morning.” Hana explained.

“What about Bam?” Akira asked.

“Keeping score, and giving us pointers. Setsuki’s alright, but she mostly knows exhibition stuff.” Hana said.

“Thanks for the info, Hana. Sorry for bothering you.” Akira said, the two walking off. “Reiko, this bad cop stuff isn’t gonna help us find your bat. You’re just antagonizing people and giving them reasons to not trust you… Why do you need that bat?” she asked.

“Because I wanna keep guard during the big Monokuma Theater show. No one’s showing it, but there’s a tension in the air…” Reiko said with a look of concern, Akira gently put a hand on her shoulder.    
  
“I couldn’t think of anyone better at protecting people than you, I think.” She said with a reassuring smile. Reiko shrugged off her hand with a chuckle.

“Heh, is that so? Well, I won’t be able to do much without my bat.” Reiko said as they explored the labs. Either no one was in their labs or they all had the same answer of not having seen Reiko’s bat. Reiko kicked the entrance door in frustration.

“God damn it! At this rate, I’ll have to make another one, or something, since I can’t fucking find this one! That’s the one I always had! This is such bullshit...” Reiko grumbled, kicking the door again.

“This is bad…” Akira said, adjusting her hat nervously. They were coming up on the Monokuma theater and Reiko’s bat was nowhere to be found. A murder was being planned, for sure and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She headed out of the labs, leaving her keycard in the basket as she walked off. She remembered what Kenji said about checking the theater and decided to join in. It might get her mind off the missing bat for just a bit.   
  
She went to the theater, entering the lobby where Yukata and Haru were waiting, looking at Kenji as he was searching a janitor’s closet. “Oh, hey Akira!” Haru said with a smile, his small puffball dog gently lounging in his arms.   
  
“Oh hey, Haru! I didn’t think you would be here.” Akira said, he just chuckled, scratching Kiko’s head gently.    
  
“Well… Kiko had to pee. Then a squirrel distracted her, there’s no stopping her when there’s a squirrel.” Haru said, Kiko letting out a bark of joy. Akira laughed as Kenji shut the closet door.

“Welp, just one room left from the looks of things, a narrow staircase next to the janitor’s closet, leading up to a small door with the label of ‘Prompter Booth.’” Kenji said. “I don’t think there will be any ghosts up there, but I wanna be sure there’s no weapons. You guys ready to go?” Kenji asked, getting a nod from Yukata.

“Kiko’s nose is primed and ready to go!” Haru said. 

“Yip! Yip!” Kiko barked in agreement.

“Might be a tiny dog, but her smeller’s top notch! She’s awesome at investigating.” Haru said, setting Kiko down.

“You mind if I come with, Kenji? The search for Reiko’s bat has gone cold.” Akira said, Kenji nodding.

“Sure thing. The more the merrier!” Kenji said as they headed up the stairs. They went inside the prompter room, Kiko getting right to work at sniffing out the room. Akira’s eyes gave a visual scan of the room, which had a table and chair along the wall facing the stage. On the table were pieces of electrical equipment; a microphone, tape recorder and a panel of buttons marked with different rooms of the theater.

“Hm… looks like this is where you can control the lights… and some duct tape. Must be there in case panels start coming off.” Akira mused, continuing her search of the room and finding some carpet and a second door. She opened the door, seeing the catwalk in front of her.

“Huh… so that must be how Dahlia got on the catwalk earlier.” Yukata said.

“Ah yes, Dahlia was here, wasn’t she? What happened to her?” Akira asked.

“She went to find Yukiji. I think he’s still sleeping in that prop box…” Yukata said.   
  
“...You left him sleeping in a prop box?” Akira said, giving an evil eye to Yukata.   
  
“That was his decision! Don’t arrest me!” Yukata said, holding his hands up. Akira sighed and shook her head.

“Just take me to him.” Akira said, grabbing Yukata by the wrist and dragging him out of the prompter room. She stopped to note a small latch lock on the door as they headed for the prop room. They walked through the theater, up the stage and to the right side door. Once inside, Yukata walked over to the box Yukiji was sleeping in when he had last left.

They lifted the lid, Yukiji’s dinosaur head popping up. “Is she gone?” he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

“Yukiji! What are you doing in there?” Akira said, reaching to pull him out.

“Hiding. And sleeping.” he said as he climbed out of the prop box.

“....Why?” Akira asked, not able to form anything else into a sentence.   
  
“Well.. I was hiding from Dahlia, and this prop box is full of foam and it was… kind of comfy?” Yukiji said with a shrug.

“Yukiji… I… sometimes I just… Oh boy…” Akira said. She couldn’t bring herself to be mad at Yukiji. He was such an innocent little boy at times like these. She just settled on taking off the dinosaur head. “Let’s just get going, ‘kay? It’ll be dinnertime when we get back to the campus.” she said, leaving the prop room. “Hey, Yukata. Thanks for keeping him... safe, I think.”

“I did absolutely nothing, but you’re welcome.” Yukata said. Akira and Yukiji left him in the prop room, leaving the theater and walking down the path back to the campus.


	19. Chapter 2, Daily Life 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make sure your local theater has at least two fire exits.

Chapter 2: Together we are, and alone we will be (Daily Life 8)   
  
There was a dread in the air on the morning of the Monokuma Theater. Many of the students had found it difficult to sleep that night and it showed for some of them. Hana was yawning before each bite of her cereal, and Setsuki had tucked her head into her arms, dozing off at the table. At Akira’s table, it seemed that only Akami was rested and was trying to keep Akira, Miho and Yukiji awake by gently nudging them, though he eventually gave up on Yukiji. Even Shiro was eying everyone suspiciously through heavy eyelids, Airi glaring back at him and tightening her grip on her fork. Reiko was grouchier than usual, leaning against the wall with her hat tipped down away from the rest.

Only Dahlia looked to be in anything resembling a cheerful mood as she enjoyed some fresh strawberries, piercing each one with her fake fangs. Kenji, even with his own secret known, felt drained as he looked around the room. “Huh… someone’s missing.” he said, doing several headcounts. Four at Akira’s table, Hana and Setsuki, Airi, Shiro, Dahlia, Reiko, Haru giving Kiko treats, Yukata shuffling one of his decks in a haze and himself. It hit him just how quiet the dining hall was, which meant that Bam wasn’t there. Kenji headed to Hana’s table.

“Hey, Hana? Have you seen Bam today?” Kenji asked, Hana rubbing her eyes slowly as she nodded.   
  
“Yeah… He said he wasn’t feeling well, that he was gonna hang out in his room for a while.” she said.

“He doesn’t normally do that… Setsuki, did you hear anything about this?“ Kenji asked to confirm, Setsuki slowly lifting her head.

“Yeah.. I was there for that. It was just after Hana and I woke up, at 5 AM.” Setsuki said, pulling her beanie over her eyes and falling back to sleep. Kenji was distressed at how well Monokuma’s threat was holding over people. He needed to do something about this. They couldn’t let Monokuma win.

Kenji jumped onto an empty table, thankfully sticking the landing as he stood up to face his classmates. “Everyone! We can’t give up now! We have plenty of time to stop Monokuma! The only way to win, is to not play! We’ll give him none of our attention, that’ll put a wrench in his killing game!” Kenji said with a raised fist. “Who’s with me?!?”

There was silence, Kenji’s fist slowly sinking. “You’re killin’ me here, guys… Really? He has your courage in a little bottle like this?” He asked, Setsuki gently tugging a pant leg to talk to him.    
  
“I don’t want to learn people’s secrets, Kenji.” She said with a dour expression. “Some things are better left unsaid, I think trusting each other is better than trying to learn everything about someone.”

“But how can we trust each other if we’re all being secretive? This is just what Monokuma wants! He wants to divide us and make us all afraid of each other! If we get our secrets out in the open-” Kenji began, Akira standing up.

“Kenji, please. This whole thing has been hard for us… I know you’re just wanting to help, but maybe… maybe it’s better if we didn’t go! That’s it! That’s how we beat Monokuma!” Akira said, snapping her fingers as it clicked to her.

“Yeah… yeah! We just not go to the Theater! We’ve got labs anyway! We’ll just skip out! What’s Monokuma gonna do about that?!?” Kenji said excitedly. For a brief moment, the students seemed to brighten up at the plan before their eyes widened with shock. “...Huh? Guys, what’s wrong?” Kenji asked as Yukata pointed a finger.

“Kenji! Behind you!” he shouted before jumping back, Kenji turning to see Monokuma standing behind him, standing proudly with his arms across his chest.   
  
“Clever attempt there, Akira, but I ain’t having it! I spend days, tediously making sets and interesting scenes for you guys, and you AIN’T GOING?! Phooey! Nay! Poppycock! I ain’t having it, police girl!” Monokuma raved when a sudden beeping hit the Monopads. Akira turned hers own to see a blinking red exclamation mark. She pressed it to see an addition to the Regulations.   
  
_ Special Rule: If you don’t appear at the theater at 4:00, you will blow up. _ _   
_ __   
“W-what!?” Akira said, everyone staring at the special rule with apprehension.

“Wellll, that’s a bit of a lie on my part. It’s really your Monopad that will blow up, but you’ll explode all the same. And don’t think you’ll be able to just throw your Monopad out because I will know if you no-show and I’ll leave you a nice surprise in your dorms or labs! Puhuhuhuhu~” Monokuma said, his laughter echoing through the dining hall.

“Y-you can’t do this! You can’t force us to-” Kenji objected, hearing his Monopad beep rapidly.

“Hey hey hey! Who is the University Dean here!?! I want all of you in that Theater by 4:00 or else… KA-BLAMMO!” Monokuma shouted, the beeping increasing in volume and speed.

“I have a question, Monokuma.” Shiro said, standing up.

“Hmmm? And what could that be, Shiro?” Monokuma said, tilting his head and rubbing his chin.

“While attendance is mandatory, will be allowed to leave once we get there?” he asked Kenji’s Monopad stopped beeping. Kenji didn’t think he would ever be thankful for Shiro speaking up, but right now it would appear the Ultimate Politician saved his life.

“Ummmm let’s see… ah! How about this? You can leave at any time, but only half of you will be allowed to be out of the Theater at any time! I want to see at least seven of you in that audience, got it?” Monokuma said.

“Understood. Thank you, Monokuma. That will be all. I apologize for Taisei’s behavior. He makes it a habit of bucking against authority.” Shiro said. “Taisei, step off the table before you embarrass yourself any further.” he ordered, Kenji slowly stepping off the table, since he owed Shiro for not getting blown to pieces then and there. Monokuma let out a laugh.

“Well then, I think that settles that. Everyone has to check in and I want a half house! Until then, have fun! Don’t be late! Wear your best and enjoy the show! Ahh~hahahahahah!” Monokuma said before vanishing, laughter echoing in the empty hall. Everyone made their way out, Kenji taking a deep breath before walking over to Shiro.

“Hey, Shiro… thanks for the save. I owe you one.” Kenji said, Shiro pushing up his glasses.

“Good, then when you learn of my secret, I want you to forget it immediately. I will not let my reputation be tarnished by that damned bear and I will not allow you to threaten me with knowledge you shouldn’t have.” Shiro said coldly, Kenji nodding.

“No argument from me. So, you’re sitting out? I thought you’d want to know more about us for blackmail.” Kenji said with a grin.

“Blackmail is a crime, Taisei. I would never consider committing a crime. And while leverage would give me an advantage, it would also make me a target for the next murder.” Shiro explained. “I’m assuming you will also be missing the show to continue your defiance of Monokuma then.”

“Well, no.” Kenji said, Shiro stopping in his steps briefly.

“No? Were you not the same Kenji Taisei who stood on a table in a pitiful attempt to rally the troops? I figured you would be the one who would want to watch this the least.” Shiro said, eyes poring over Kenji, as if he were a jeweler appraising a finely-cut diamond.

“Well, yeah, but if other people start to leave, they’ll violate Monokuma’s rule about half of us staying. I’ll stay there, incase some people want to leave without their detonators going off. Besides, if anyone stays they’ll probably need someone with them for moral support. Might as well be me, right?” Kenji said with a smile.

“I see… yes, having a constant in the theater would be useful. Well, we shall meet again at 4 P.M. sharp. I will be in my lab if you need me.” Shiro said, heading for the campus doors.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Kenj said with a friendly smile, Shiro shooting back an annoyed glare. As Shiro walked off, Kenji thought he briefly saw a slight twitch of the corner of his mouth. He ignored it, he was probably just seeing things because of how tired he was. He turned to the MonoMono Machine, putting in three Monocoins and getting a bottle of apple juice.

“Hey, Kenji. You wanna help me find Reiko’s bat?” Akira asked as she walked over to him in the hall.

“Sure.” he said as they walked around the the first floor. “You gonna be at the Theater?” Kenji asked.

“No. I’m sticking with sitting out. Miho and I are gonna be leaving once we get through the doors… hey, Kenji. Would you mind staying by Yukiji tonight?” Akira asked.

“He’s staying? You think he wouldn’t want to see this.” Kenji said, Akira nodding glumly.

“He doesn’t, he’s just afraid of blowing up. I kept telling him there’d be enough people still there that he wouldn’t be hurt, but he wasn’t convinced. I wasn’t either, really…” Akira said, looking down at the floor.

“Ah… yeah, I’ll sit next to him if it makes him feel safer. How about Akami? Is he gonna be there?” Kenji asked.

“Yeah. He said he’ll stay there for Yukiji, I just figured he could use more people to help him feel better.” Akira replied.

“Right. Hopefully Bam knows to show up.” Kenji said as they checked the dorm.

“Hana will probably tell him.” Akira said. Hours passed as they checked several floors, still not finding the bat.

_ Ding Dong. Dong Ding. _

“Attention students! This is Dean Monokuma here to remind you that it 3:50 P.M.! Be sure to report to the Monokuma Theater in 10 minutes! Or elllllse~” came a message from Monokuma, a small chirp coming from Kenji and Akira’s Monopads.

“I guess it’s that time, huh.” Akira said, getting done digging through some drawers in Kenji’s lab. She looked at her Monopad, checking her messages with an animated laughing monokuma, with the timer counting down from 10 minutes in big red block letters. 

“Yep. Better get going…” Kenji said, bracing himself. He gave up his search, leading the way out of the school to the front of the theater, where all the remaining students approached, some heading inside, others waiting for everyone else to get there.    
  
“I guess they were waiting too.” Akira said, putting a hand on her hip as they slowly filed into the room. Once Akira and Kenji entered the room, the laughing Monokuma changed to a green, smiling Monokuma with the numbers 14/14 on it. “Well, looks like everyone’s here.” Akira said, looking at the little Monokumas on the conveyor belt near the snack bar, before turning to face the double doors.   
  
“That’s the main theater hall, Akira. I’m not sure you’ve seen it yet.” Kenji replied, but Akira just turned around and started to leave.

“I’ll wait until the theater’s over. Just try and stay safe, alright?” Akira asked as she took a slow, careful step through the doorway. The light of outside was magnitudes brighter than the dimly lit theater, even in the main lobby. There were no warning beeps emitting from her Monopad, meaning that it was safe for people to leave. Without another ward, Shiro, Miho, Yukata and Setsuki left the theater with Akira.   
  
Kenji looked back at his Monopad, it was still green, though the number changed to 9/14, still 2 over half. They were in the clear as he headed for the concession stand, seeing Yukiji grab the entire box of KitKats from the glass case. “Hey, Yukiji… you’re not stealing those, are you?”

“It’s not in the regulations, these KitKats are fair game.” Yukiji said, setting the box down and climbing over the table. Kenji bought a box of popcorn and a medium cup of Emerald Splash, figuring that would be enough. As he headed for the soda machine, he saw Dahlia there, eyes lit up with delight as she poured a large cup of fruit punch.

“This contraption is simply delightful~ Infinite punch~” She said with a smirk, taking a sip of it and walking into the theater next. Yukiji, hiding behind Kenji, breathed a sigh of relief as they headed in.   
  
The room was nearly pitch black, to be honest, Kenji would probably trip if he didn’t know where the stairs were, it was even darker than before. The only guide he had, was floor lights on the tip of each stair, and lining the row of theater seats as him and Yukiji found a seat, sitting next to an apprehensive Hana, who was shriveling against her seat nervously.    
  
“Hana, can we sit here?” Kenji asked, Yukiji leaning over Kenji’s shoulder, craning his neck like a curious bird.    
  
“Oh! Kenji… and.. Yukiji’s head. Sure, I guess.” She said with a nervous smile, Kenji sitting down next to her, and Yukiji sitting next to him in the seat beside the staircase. Akami sat himself in the row behind Yukiji, sitting nervously next to Reiko. Though from his current position, he couldn’t see anyone else in the room or where they were sitting,   
  
Two large spotlights were shining on the red curtain, which slowly began to open, as they heard a drumroll play in the orchestra pit. “Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Vampires and weird kids! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s TIME!” Monokuma shouted over the speakers.    
  
A fanfare began to play. “Monokuma Theater, baby! Finally I got to do one of these!” He said, popping out of the floor and landing on a single paw, the band playing what could be described as a theme song, though it was just a bunch of wacky sounds to Kenji.    
  
Kenji looked over to Yukiji, who was nervously nibbling through a KitKat like a hamster would eat a leaf, nearly stuffing it into his cheeks as he looked back to the stage. “Star of the show right here, everybody~ No taking pictures with your cell phones or I’ll burn you with hot candle wax.” Monokuma spoke, Kenji just giving a now trademark sigh as the bear completely ruined the mood again.   
  
“Let’s start with the very first subject of Monokuma Theater. Your secrets! We’ll be doing these in alphabetical order, starting with your first names. Enjoy the show, eat the popcorn, and shut up!”

**Act 1: Airi Kudo** **   
** **   
** A stagehand pushed a briefcase to the middle of the room on a pedestal, then lasers began to fill the room, as a Monokuma wearing a purple wig, and black gloves began to tiptoe over the lasers, dodging them swiftly.    
  
“Airi Kudo… is The Ultimate Spy. A master who works with private companies, masking her appearance and personality to gather information!” Monokuma announced, the MonoKudo slowly walking over to the briefcase, opening it, and snapping a picture with a camera, before tumbling around on stage.   
  
“Though, being a spy is much less exciting than what you see in the movies, all she does is watch and report things, being more a double agent than a thief or a killer.” He continued, the MonoKudo tripping over a laser, turning an alarm on.    
  
Monoguards charged into the room, so MonoKudo hid behind a fern, hoping to elude them, successfully karate chopping a guard, and escaping the room. 

The stagehands began to clear the stage, as they got ready for the next secret to reveal. Though, a grating noise began to fill Kenji’s ears.   
  
_ Tap tap tap tap _   
  
“What is that…?” Kenji asked himself, looking left and right at Hana and Yukiji, who didn’t seem to be paying attention.    
  
**Act 2: Akira Kazue** **   
** **   
** The stage was now outside a school, where a bunch of Monokuma’s pretending to be kids were playing around, another one dressed in police gear, with a blue ponytail stood in front of them with an angered expression.   
  
“Akira Kazue… was a delinquinent! She bullied other kids, beat them up and took their lunch money!” He announced, MonoKazue running over, kicking all the smaller kids, before breaking their chalk in her paws.    
  
“She even tried to steal a teacher’s car, but because she didn’t know how to drive…” MonoKazue climbed into a prop car, turning it on, and driving it through a wall into a cutout of a classroom, destroying many cardboard families of children.   
  
“She injured ten other classmates! And got put in the slammer. Poor Kazue…” He said with a sobbing voice, as an ambulance drove into the school room as well, running over even more children before the Monokuma’s could clear the set.   
  
“Psst.. Taisei.” He heard a voice from behind his right ear. He turned his head, going face to face with Dahlia, who was staring right into his eyes. He gasped, leaning back and fighting the urge to jump out of his seat.    
  
“D-Dahlia!? Where were you?” He asked, Dahlia hopping over the seat to stand in front of him, partially blocking his view.    
  
“Do you hear that?” she asked, raising a finger, Kenji tried to listen past the loud music, to hear more of the noise he was hearing earlier.   
  
_ Taptaptaptap. _ _   
_ __   
“Y-yeah… I do. Do you know what it is?” Kenji asked, but Dahlia shook her head. 

“No, I think one of us should investigate it.” she replied, but Reiko walked down the stairs, stepping in between the two, standing next to Yukiji.    
  
“I’ll go. That tapping’s driving me fuckin’ crazy.” Reiko said.

“Ah, thank you, Ms. Ono.” Dahlia said with a bow, perfectly holding the cup of punch in both hands. Reiko let out a grunt of affirmation before walking off, the vision of her growing dark, as Kenji focused back on the stage.   
  
The stage was a basketball court, so Kenji assumed it must have been Hana.    
  
“Ms. Okamoto was placed on the third string in her Junior High school basketball team, meaning she had to be on the bench most of the game!” Monokuma announced, a HanaKuma wearing a pink wig and wearing a basketball uniform, pulling off some impressive dribbling, before crying while sitting on a bench in front of her coach.   
  
“She was so upset, she decided to have revenge on the person who took her spot.” He said, cutting to a practice game where HanaKuma, playing with other teammates. She passed the ball so hard, it hit the other Monokuma and crashed him into the wall.   
  
“She hit her in the mouth so hard with the basketball, she broke 12 of their teeth! She was kicked out from the school, and branded a loser!” he announced, Hana starting to cry, rubbing her cheek on her forearm.   
  
“I hate this…” Hana said, standing up and running out of the room as act 4 began.

  
**Act 4: Miho Ishii** **   
** **   
** “STARSTRUCK. Miho Ishii’s company, the one her father owns, and she’s the top star…” He announced, a MonoMiho diving off the top rope and delivering a huge elbow drop to a Monokuma dressed like a pirate, then a referee gave a three count, before handing her a title.    
  
“But, her daddy started his company… by selling it to the Yakuza!” He announced, an old man Monokuma shaking hands with another Monokuma with an eyepatch and a tiger striped suit.    
  
“Miho knew, but did nothing about it! Knowing that one day the police will come and shut down her company, damning her to obscurity.” He said, all the lights turning off and leaving a sad looking MonoMiho looking sad in the ring, her father being arrested by MonoKazue.   
  
**Act 5: Morida ‘Bam’ Takahashi** **   
  
**

Instead of a sports booth, it looked like a woman’s bedroom. A ladder being placed on the window, and a MonoBam climbing up the ladder with a big goofy mohawk, and huge sunglasses. “Professional sportscaster Bam Takahashi… Is a big ol’ nasty pervert!” He announced, MonoBam climbing into the room.   
  
“He rifles through drawers of women he doesn’t know…” He said, MonoBam pulling out a pair of pink, frilly panties. “And he sniffs their panties, before collecting them for ‘personal use’ later!” He said, the MonoBam tucking panties into his hair and hopping back out of the window.    
  
That fact made Kenji wide eyed. “THAT’S what Bam’s secret was? Oh my god…” He said, face buried into his hands from embarrassment.   
  
Akami gently tapped him on a shoulder. “Kenji?” He asked softly, Kenji turned back to stare at Akami, who was leaning over his seat to look at him.    
  
“What is it?” He asked, Akami looking somewhat concerned. 

“I don’t like that Reiko went by herself. Is it okay if I go check on her?” He asked, Kenji thinking for a minute, contemplating. He checked his Monopad to see how many were still in theater. 8/14.   
  
“It might be a good idea. Go ahead, don’t try to take too long, alright?” Kenji said, Akami giving a thumbs up as he got up to leave.

**Act 6: Reiko Ono**

The set changed to an alley fight between Monokumas in Killer Queens jackets and another gang of MondoKumas, clad in pompadours of increasing size. “Ah yes, Reiko Ono. Ultimate School Delinquent and leader of the formerly biggest gang in Japan. The Killer Queens.” Monokuma began, an OnoKuma in a huge coat wielding a wiffle bat with fake nails taped into it, swinging at several MondoKumas.

“However, it would appear that they crossed paths with the Kuzuryu Clan and the Clan wiped their asses out!” Monokuma continued, showing the eyepatched Monokuma killing several members of OnoKuma’s gang. “And if you had been paying attention to Act 4, that Kuzuryu member should look familiar to you… that’s right! The same Yakuza that funded STARSTRUCK took out the Killer Queens!” Monokuma said with a mad cackle. “Oh, how I really wish Miho and Reiko were here to see this one. The despair would’ve been so wonderful! But oh well, the show must go on!”

**Act 7: Shiro Kiruma**

The set was now a library, where MonoKiruma sat reading a book. “Shiro Kiuma. So proud, so powerful. As the Ultimate Politician, he has control over everything… everything except for one little thing…” Monokuma narrated as MonoKiruma got up, setting down his book and starting to walk only to trip. MonoKiruma flailed his body for several seconds before falling headfirst into the table. He layed on the floor, bleeding and twitching. “He can’t tie his shoes! That’s why he always wears loafers! He also can’t cook, but that’s not as despair-inducing because he has people cook for him!” he said as an ambulance ran over MonoKiruma, knocking over the bookshelf and sending several students from Akira’s scene barreling into the stage.    
  
The Monokuma got out of the ambulance, and laid a plate of cookies next to MonoKiruma’s corpse.

**Act 8: Wakako Nagase**

“Ack! Wh-what?!?” Yukiji shrieked, leaping back. Kenji stared at Yukiji, seeing red liquid beginning to stain his shirt.    
  
“YUKIJI!” Kenji shouted, catching the attention of the remaining people in the room, but the thing that came next wasn’t what he expected.   
  
“IT’S SO C-COLD!” Yukiji shouted, pushing his hands to his chest, the red liquid dripping on his fingers as Dahlia shot up from the floor near their seats    
  
“Oh darling, I’m so sorry! I spilled my punch on you!” she said, grabbing at his shirt and unbuttoning it. “Here! Let me get you a new shirt!” Dahlia exclaimed, blushing as she saw his pasty, slightly underweight, nude upper body.

“G-gah! Dahlia! Your hands are cold! Stoooooop.” Yukiji objected as Dahlia pulled his shirt off, Kenji looking away from this.   
  
“You spilled your punch? Why’d you even get out of your seat?”   
  
“I needed more punch, clearly.” Dahlia said as she rolled the shirt into a ball. “Just hold on, Yukiji! All the clothes in the dressing room are mine! I’ll get you a shirt from the laundry!” she said, stroking Yukiji’s chest with one hand, Kenji grabbing her hand and pulling it off.

“Okay, stop THAT!” Kenji said, Dahlia snatching her hand away and hissing at Kenji, eyes narrowed, and walking off. “You okay, Yukiji?” he asked, Yukiji covering his chest with his arms and shivering.

“It’s so c-cold... “ Yukiji said, before a small dog leapt into his lap.   
  
“Kiko to the rescue! Cuddle dog is go!” Haru said, his deep voice speaking from the stairs next to Yukiji. Yukiji just smiled, and squeezed the puffball pomeranian in a content cuddlehug.    
  
“Yay…” He chirped, happily. Kenji taking his sweater off over his head and passing it to Yukiji as well.    
  
“Wear this too, at least for some modesty.” Kenji said, Yukiji smiling and putting the sweater on. Haru took a seat next to Kenji. Kenj turned his eyes back to the stage, his smile from helping Yukiji fading as he saw the set change.

**Act 9: Yukata Watanabe**

“We’re coming to the end and Y is such an appropriate letter to end it. It sounds like the start of a question. Why are we here? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why… do I smell smoke?” Monokuma asked. Kiko sniffed at the air, letting out a panicked bark in Yukiji’s arms.   
  
“What is it, Kiko!?” Haru asked his dog, who skillfully pointed her nose to the stage, where one of the curtains had a dancing flame going up it.    
  
“Is that a fire…?” Yukiji asked, Kenji getting up fast, knocking over his Emerald Splash onto the floor.   
  
“FIRE!” Kenji shouted, running over to the ramp as Monokuma spotted the fire, slowly backing away from it.    
  
“Woah woah woah! Don’t spread, you’ll burn my precious fur!” He shouted, Kenji cupping his mouth and shouting at the bear across the hall.   
  
“MONOKUMA! WHERE ARE THE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS!?” Kenji shouted, as the remaining students started to panic to escape behind him.    
  
“M-main hall, Kenji! Right next to the door to the Janitor closet!” He shot back, Kenji leaping into the air with energy, kicking the door open, running to the janitor closet, kneeing the glass as hard as he could, and taking the fire extinguisher inside the glass.    
  
He ran back to the theater room, dashing down the stairs and hopping onto the stage, shooting the canister of fire extinguisher at the fire, as it began to ignite the whole curtain, some flames starting to ignite the wood on the floor.    
  
“Kenji! The fire’s growing! The fire’s growing! I’m outta here!” Monokuma shouted, leaping into the trap door in the theater and disappearing as Kenji continued to fight the fire.    
  
“SOME HELP YOU ARE!” He shouted, hoping Monokuma could hear him. The fire ignited the stage, burning some of the props as the smoke began to fill Kenji’s lungs, causing him to break out into a cough. His fire extinguisher fought the fire, but it was spreading faster than he can snuff the flames.    
  
“Damn it, damn it damn it!” Kenji shouted, as he heard a door slam to his right, running out was Akami, spotting the fire, Reiko standing behind him, holding her nail bat.    
  
“KENJI! Why is the stage on fire!?” Akami shouted, covering his mouth with his sleeve so he wouldn’t inhale any smoke.    
  
“I don’t know! I can’t fight the fire! We might need to get out of here!” Kenji shouted back, Akami looking around the room to find something to help fight the fire.    
  
Dahlia ran back through the doors, holding Yukiji’s shirt as he scrambled up the stairs, trying to escape.    
  
“Yukiji! I got you your… FIRE! THERE’S A FIRE!!!!” she shouted, a hiss coming from her throat as she grabbed Yukiji’s hip, tugging him up the stairs with her to escape the room.    
  
“God damn it, there has to be something we can do!” Kenji shot, before his brain began to think through some of the things he remembered from the day before.    
  
“The fire curtain!” He shouted, looking around for a button to release the fire curtain, eventually seeing one near the entrance of the catwalk, he broke into a dash, pushing the button as hard as he could.   
  
A rope dropped to the ground, the one holding onto the fire curtain, causing it to unravel and fall to the bottom of the stage, then, sprinklers began to turn on, spraying down the theater with water.    
  
***Thump*** **   
** **   
** Kenji couldn’t see what made the sound, the fire curtain covered the regular curtain to choke the fire, and obscure the stage. The fire slowly began to choke out, as he ran up to Akami and Reiko, standing together.    
  
“You okay, Kenji…?” Akami asked, looking at him, who was now missing his sweater but seemed fine. Akami seemed fine as well, though a little exhausted looking.    
  
The problem was Reiko. Her hand and forearm were covered in cuts and slices, blood dripping from her hands, along with a cut on her head, dripping over one of her eyes and forcing it shut for now.    
  
“W-what happened Reiko?” Kenji asked, but Reiko just snarled, walking past him and slipping under the curtain. Kenji and Akami followed, but on the other side of the curtain…   
  
Bam’s body was on the ground, covered in his own blood. His glasses were broken, and had a metal nail sticking out of one of his eyes, he had more cuts on his face, a broken nose, and the pool of blood began to mix with the water dispensed from the sprinklers, his face looked nearly caved in.    
  
At the top of the stage, Yukiji, Haru, and Dahlia all saw the scene on the stage.    
  
“No! BAM!” Kenji shouted, before an announcement played on the PA.   
  
_ Bing Bong Bong Bing. _

“A body has been discovered! The trial will begin after a short, 2 hour investigation. All students are required to attend, so meet me back at the dorms, got it? See ya later!” Monokuma announced, before the monitor shut off.   
  
Kenji looked back at Reiko, who was still holding a bat coated in blood, with her looking down at the floor.    
  
“R-Reiko…” Kenji muttered out, as the remaining students who weren’t in the theater were led into the room by Airi.


	20. The Second Murder Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These get very long, by the way.

**CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!** **   
** **   
** _ The remaining living students were assembled in the circle of podiums yet again, but with subtle differences, the room was darker, and draped in similar curtains to the ones in the theater room, Emi’s and Bam’s pictures were now placed at each of their positions at the podium, with their faces crossed out with red paint. Monokuma was seated in the same throne chair as before, and the monitor beside him seemed similar to the one last time.  _

  
  


**Monokuma:** Allow me to call this Class Trial into session! Before we begin, allow me to begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial, you will be presenting your arguments over a simple question of ‘Whodunnit’? At the end of the trial, or the end of the countdown monitor placed to my side, a vote will be called.    
  
**Monokuma Cont’d: ** If the majority is successful in voting for the correct student, the Blackened will be punished. But, if you vote for the wrong one? All students besides the blackened will be punished instead, which will result in the Blackened graduating the school, and escaping back to the outside world.    
  
**Monokuma Cont’d:** If you refuse to vote, you will be dealt with. As in… You’ll die. So remember to vote, everybody! Let’s get this rip-roaring, extreme to the max, dramatic blockbuster of a class trial underway!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma** : There’s a very major issue with the very concept of this class trial that may make it much more difficult than the previous one. The motive.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d** : The motive states that the culprit will be able to select one person to escape with them out of the university after the class trial has been completed.    
  
**Setsuki Yori** : Does that change anything about how this trial is going to work, Shiro?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma** : It changes everything about this trial, Yori. This means that it’s more than likely one of the students in the theater has the potential of being an accomplice, this adds much more depth to the case, because the accomplice can provide a solid alibi for the culprit, and… even worse.   
  
**Setsuki Yori:** Worse? What could be worse than that?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Well, the accomplice could have committed actions that throws the guilt and suspicion on them, and if we vote for them, the culprit wins the trial. Then the culprit and the accomplice would both be able to escape, while we all die.    
  
**Setsuki Yori:** Oh wow! I didn’t think of that, that’s REALLY bad!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe: ** Monokuma, could you confirm that an accomplice was used for this murder?   
  
**Monokuma:** No, ya nitwit! Providing the chance to use an accomplice was like… the entire point of this motive. Figure that out for yourself!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Well… It was worth trying. Shit.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Another problem is the fact that roughly a third of the students here weren’t witnesses of the happenings in the Theater. We have to go entirely based off the stories of the suspects, since we don’t have the benefit of an entirely objective witness.   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** I think what we might have to do is have each of the students in the theater give their version of events, and try to see if they line up or not.   
  
**Akira Kazue Cont’d: ** Parts that match up are the truth. Parts that struggle to be corroborated might be the potential lies in the testimony. It may be tedious, but it’s our best shot. Let’s try and get the order of events sorted with before we continue to the murder itself.    
  
**Hana Okamoto:** And you better not lie! I can tell if you’re a big fat liar!    
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** And we’ll start with Taisei, I believe. Recall the events of the murder to the best of your recollection.    
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** When I got to the theater, I didn’t see Bam enter the theater, but when I checked my Monopad, it said he was present. Akira then spoke with me to watch over Yukiji since they’re rather close with each other.    
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d: ** I grabbed a soda, then escorted Yukiji to the seat next to mine so we could watch the Monokuma Theater together. The theater started, and secrets started getting listed off.   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** Yeah… Kenji hung out with me the entire time, our stories are going to be exactly the same. 

**Kenji Taisei:** It started out rather normal, but when Hana’s secret came out, that she intentionally hurt another player on her team, she got upset, and ran out.    
  
**Hana Okamoto:** …   
  


**Kenji Taisei:** Sorry, Hana. I was just making sure not to leave out any details.

  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** Then, a strange tapping sound began to get on my nerves. Dahlia came to speak with me that it was bugging her as well. Reiko then offered to investigate it for us. Reiko left, and the tapping continued for a while, as Monokuma continued to list off secrets.    
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** Dahlia got into the seat with Yukiji and I, and then Akami spoke to me, it had been a few minutes since Reiko went to find the source of the noise, and wanted to check if she was okay.    
  
**Akami Sakiko:** Did I do something wrong by doing that? I hope not… I just got worried, okay? Wandering off isn’t really a great idea when we think a murder is gonna happen.   
  
**Reiko Ono:** You’re calling it a bad fuckin’ idea? There might have been a bomb in the theater or somethin’. How in the shit would you NOT investigate a mysterious noise?    
  
**Akami Sakiko:** Calm down, lady! Jeez…    
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Anyway... Dahlia spilled punch on Yukiji, getting it all over his clothes, and offered to get some clean ones, so she left the theater for a while.

**Shiro Kiruma:** That all sounds solid. Kudo, can you confirm this?   
  
**Airi Kudo:** I wasn’t seated anywhere near Kenji, but I did hear Yukiji shout, Haru ran over to aid Yukiji, and Dahlia did leave the theater afterward.

**Kiko:** Arf! Arf!

**Monokuma:** Oh boy, he brought that damn dog again… Stop looking at me with those big beady eyes!   
  
**Kiko:** Arf!   
  
**Monokuma:** < _ Sigh _ > What can I do…? I’m being upstaged here by a puff-dog.    
  
**Haru Yamada: ** Yukiji had some red stuff on his shirt, and he started shivering, so I went up to try and warm him up by giving him Kiko to cuddle. Kenji also lended his sweater vest to him until Dahlia brought him a clean shirt.    
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** I wasn’t finished yet with my recollection, by the way. More happened after that, we’re not investigating who spilt punch… We’re investigating the murder.    
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Go ahead, Taisei.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Right. Slightly after Shiro’s secret was revealed, the room began to fill with a weird haze, this turned out to be smoke. Apparently at some point, the curtains were lit on fire, and the fire began to consume the stage.    
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** I think there were only like… four people in the audience at the time. It was something about Shiro’s shoes.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Chimon has already said too much! Any of you who complete his statement will not see the end of this trial!

**Kenji Taisei:** Okay… stay calm, Shiro. We won’t divulge your secret.

**Shiro Kiruma:** < _ Sighs _ > Continue...

**Kenji Taisei:** Me, Yukiji, Airi and Haru. Dahlia left, and Reiko and Akami were backstage.

**Kenji Taisei:** Spotting the fire, I asked Monokuma to help me find a fire extinguisher, so I rushed to the lobby, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and started to try and put out the flames.

**Miho Ishii: ** Wait, but that means that there were only six of us in the theater!

**Kenji Taisei:** Is that an issue?   
  
**Miho Ishii:** Yeah it’s an issue, dude! Remember? Monokuma said if the number of students drops below half of 14, the Monopads will go off. Since we’re all alive, the number had to stay above 7.    
  
**Monokuma:** Oooh, it’s debate time! Let’s get ready, boys and girls!   
  
_ <Debate Starts> _ _   
_ _   
_ **Kenji Taisei:** …No timer this time?   
  


< _ Debate Stops _ >   
  
**Monokuma:** I got bored, so I decided to scrap it. I’ll just yell at you guys to get a move on if you take too long. Now shut up and debate!   
  
< _ Debate Starts… Again _ >   
  
**Miho ishii:** You’re tellin’ me… that one of the 7 of you left the building. That would make it six, wouldn’t it?   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Taisei, Kudo, Yamada, Chimon, Ono and Sakiko. I, Kazue, Ishii, Yori, and Watanabe were all outside of the building.    
  


**Setsuki Yori:** Does that mean Hana was still in the building?    
  
**Hana Okamoto:** No, I wasn’t! I went to my bedroom. 

**Haru Yamada:** Maybe the Monopad was counting Kiko!

**Kiko:** Woof!

**Yukata Watanabe:** Maybe the Monopad was still counting Bam as alive?  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** **I agree with that!**

  
_ <Debate Stops> _ _   
  
_

**Kenji Taisei Cont’d: ** Yeah, we found Bam’s body in the theater, so he had to have come to the theater.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Yes, but none of us saw him enter the theater, and no one saw him even during that morning’s breakfast.

**Kenji Taisei:** No, one of us did see him this morning. In fact, two people did. Hana? Setsuki?

**Hana Okamoto** : …

**Setsuki Yori:** ...Looks like I’m doing the talking this time.   
**   
** **Setsuki Yori Cont’d:** Hana, Bam and I usually wake up pretty early in the morning so we can get some training in before breakfast. Bam got up, but told me he was feeling sick, and wanted to go back to bed.   
**   
** **Yukata Watanabe:** Wait, you train before breakfast, too?   
  
**Setsuki Yori: ** Yeah, I do. It’s a mental exercise to train against your hunger, it improves mental clarity and intuitiveness.    
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Well I’ll be damned. Never thought of that.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** And Okamoto witnessed this event, correct?    
  
**Hana Okamoto:** ...Yeah. I did.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** And since Setsuki never entered the building where the murder happened, Hana and Setsuki couldn’t be the culprit, or the accomplice.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Perhaps, but if Takahashi was bedridden, then that means he wouldn’t have been in the theater for some time.

**Hana Okamoto:** ...Well, no. He was there…

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Hm?

**Hana Okamoto:** After we found the body… I grabbed Bam’s Monopass…

**Akira Kazue:** Huh? His Monopass? Why?

**Hana Okamoto:** I wanted to get something from his dorm to remember him… while I was looking I found something in his trash...   
  
**Airi Kudo:** It better not have been one of his pairs of… used panties. The very thought disgusts me.    
  
**Miho Ishii:** THAT’S his secret!? HOLY SHIT.

**Akira Kazue:** Ugh… If I knew that, I would’ve locked that creep up!

  
**Hana Okamoto:** Shut up, both of you! I’m talking…   
  
< _ Hana retrieved something from the inside of her shirt, a small piece of crumpled paper. _ >

**Hana Okamoto Cont’d: ** It’s a note that was written to him, I guess he got it this morning.

< _ The contents of the note displayed on the screen. “Please meet me in the Theater at 6:30 AM. I need to speak with you about the nature of my secret - Reiko” _ >

**Hana Okamoto Cont’d: ** And… and that means... REIKO KILLED HIM!

**Reiko Ono: The FUCK did you just say, you little shit?!?****  
****  
**<_Debate Starts_>  
  
**Reiko Ono: **I didn’t write the goddamned note! That’s a load of horseshit!   
**  
****Hana Okamoto: **You lured him there, and you killed him!  
  
**Hana Okamoto:** You lured him there, killed him, then hid the body! There’s no other way to explain why you gave him that note! You must have had a secret relating to him.  
  
**Kenji Taisei: **This is all way to sudden, can we all just calm down!?  
  
**Hana Okamoto:** You must have killed him this morning, and took the Monopad with you!  
  
**Reiko Ono: **W-what the shit!?   
  
**Kenji Taisei: No! That’s wrong!****  
****  
**_<Debate stops>__  
__  
_**Kenji Taisei:** Did you read the Monokuma file, Hana? Let me bring it up for you.   
  
_<Kenji swiped on his Monopad, the Monokuma File in question appearing on the screen.__  
__  
__Monokuma File #2__  
__Bam Takahashi__  
__Death: Around 4:00 PM__  
__The victim died in the Theater__  
__Cause of death: Severe damage to the skull, there are also several smaller cuts piercing deep into his face. >__  
_  
**Kenji Taisei:** He died around 4PM. That’s an objective fact… Reiko couldn’t kill him this morning because she was at breakfast with everyone else around 7AM. If she was killing him at the time, she wouldn’t be there.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Then she killed him at 4:00 PM! Whatever, she still did it!  
  
**Kenji Taisei: **No, because it says to meet him at 6:30 AM. If she met him at that point, then he moved to the theater while he was alive, then Reiko didn’t kill him at that point.  
  
**Reiko Ono: **See? Told ya it was bullshit!  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** If the soap opera is over, I would like to return to the original subject I said we were doing. Gathering accounts of the events that happened in the theater. Chimon and Taisei explained their version of the story, but Sakiko, Kurotsuki, and Ono’s accounts are still in question.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma: **Mr. Sakiko, please account what happened during the time of the murder.  
  
**Akami Sakiko: **Right… I sat behind Hana at first, with Reiko sitting beside me. Then saw Kenji and Yukiji sit beside Hana.   
  
**Akami Sakiko Cont’d:** Hana ran off, then Dahlia replaced her after she asked Kenji to investigate the noise. Reiko went, and was gone about five minutes. I got concerned, so I asked Kenji if it was alright for me to go see if I could help her out.  
  
**Hana Okamoto:** Help her COMMIT MURDER!?  
  
**Akami Sakiko: **Shh. I’m talking.   
  
**Miho Ishii: **God is this gonna be the only thing she does this whole time?   
  
**Akami Sakiko:** I’m TALKING.  
  
**Reiko Ono: **Akami couldn’t even help me if I did commit the murder.  
  
**Akami Sakiko: **ALL OF YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING FACES! I. AM. TALKING! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** …  
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** …Woah, he’s a mad lil dude.  
  
**Akami Sakiko:**_ <Clears his throat.> _Excuse me… but yes, I had left the theater to catch up with Reiko. NOT to assist her in murder, Hana. You fucking charlatan!  
  
**Akami Sakiko Cont’d:** When I got onto the stage, I snuck behind the curtain in hopes of not interrupting Monokuma, when I got to the prop room, the door was locked and that noise kept happening. It was weird, the lock was jammed, I couldn’t possibly open it.  
  
**Akami Sakiko Cont’d: **Then, Reiko busted out of the room by kicking it as hard as she could, nearly breaking it off its hinges, she was covered in blood. Blood on her hands, and blood on her face. By the time I was going to ask her what happened, the curtains were on fire and Kenji was shouting at everyone.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** That’s all?  
  
**Akami Sakiko: **That’s all I got.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma: **You don’t even know why she was covered in blood?  
  
**Akami Sakiko:** _<Flashes a peace sign>_ Nope!  
  
**Shiro Kiruma: **That… didn’t help as much as I thought it would.  
  
**Akira Kazue:** Regardless of if it helped or not, it’s still good to know the order of events in the building, since I wasn’t there for either the murder, or the investigation. I was dealing with Reiko at the time.  
  
**Reiko Ono: **What, am I a fucking gorilla now? You don’t have to act like I’m just a walking rabid murderer, ya know?  
  
**Akira Kazue:** I told you, I was being careful!  
  
**Reiko Ono: **Just because I won’t give you my bat doesn’t mean I was gonna use it! The fuck’s wrong with you, cop lady?   
  
**Akira Kazue: **Who the heck walks around with a murder weapon if they’re NOT going to murder someone!?  
  
**Kenji Taisei**: That’s a whole other bag of worms, Akira. I’d rather not comment.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** The rattling noise is a throughline of all these testimonies. I want to figure out what the source of that noise could possibly be.   
**  
****Reiko Ono:** I know what it was, if I can fucking explain anything before people start jumping my back.   
  
**Reiko Ono Cont’d:** Someone set up a stupid shitty prank or something when I opened the door. It locked behind me, and my bat was tied to a rope attached to a doorknob, I tore the rope off, which caused it to swing like a fucking flail, and the fan was on full speed!   
  
**Akira Kazue: **The bat… was tied to a rope… attached to the ceiling fan, and when you tore the rope tied to the door, it started flailing everywhere?  
  
**Reiko Ono:** Fuckin’ yeah it did. It cut the shit out of me while I was grabbing the nailbat, but I had to fight the fan in a tug-o-war to get it. I tripped, slammed my face into a bookshelf and it all fell down.   
  
**Reiko Ono Cont’d:** Now I was locked inside the room, and the doorknob wasn’t working, so I kicked the bajeezus out of the door, which got it open again, and I saw Akami staring at me on the other side of the door.   
  
**Kenji Taisei: **Did the prop room door have a lock? Fuck, I wish I checked before the murder happened…   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** It did in fact have a lock. The lock can be activated, but not actually lock the door until the handle is let go of.  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** So… that means the rope tied from the fan to the door had two purposes. To hold the bat in place, and…  
**  
****Hana Okamoto: Wait, hold on… ****  
****  
****Hana Okamoto: **Her being locked in that room doesn’t make her innocent of the murder! That doesn’t explain anything about how the murder happened either!  
**  
****Kenji Taisei: **What do you mean?  
  
**Hana Okamoto**: I read the Monokuma File, and it said he died of getting hit with a blunt object with spikes. She could have killed Bam, moved his body, then locked herself in the room by the time Akami went to find her!  
  
_<Debate Start>__  
  
_

**Hana Okamoto: **Reiko was holding the murder weapon when she exited the room, didn’t she!?  
  
**Akami Sakiko: **Yeah, she was holding the bat with the nails in it.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** She clobbered Bam with the bat, and easily moved him to the stage by the time Akami found her!  
  
**Reiko Ono:** Slow your go, you crazy lil bitch! How the fuck do you know how I killed him if you no one saw me do it!?  
  
**Hana Okamoto: **You killed him, moved his body, then went back into the room to lock yourself in!  
  
**Reiko Ono: **And how did I move him?   
  
**Hana Okamoto: **You moved him to the stage, you asshole!  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** **No, that’s wrong! **  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** That isn’t where we found the body, Hana… we found it wrapped up in the fire curtain. The fire must have been intentional, because the fire curtain falling was the only way we could have seen the body.   
**  
****Airi Kudo:** That’s why the fire was intentionally started, and there were blood stains on the edge of the fire curtain, so the blood must have been soaking into it for at least a few minutes.   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** So she wrapped him up in the fire curtain, then locked herself in the prop room!

**Reiko Ono:** Are you fucking serious with this?!? How long are you gonna keep accusin’ me of shit I didn’t do?!?

**Hana Okamoto: ** Because nothing you said makes me doubt that you did it!

**Reiko Ono: ** Then what the fuck kind of proof do you need!?    
**   
** **Shiro Kiruma:** Okamoto raises a good point. For someone who claims innocence, Ono’s volatile personality makes it difficult to believe she didn’t do it.

**Reiko Ono:** Oh, you wanna fucking go too, Shiro?!?

**Airi Kudo: ** Reiko, calm down. Threats like that are just gonna make people suspect you even more.

**Reiko Ono:** You fucking stay calm while everyone’s callin’ you a murderer!

**Kenji Taisei:** < _ There’s something we’re missing here... _ >

**Shiro Kiuma: ** Yori, you appear to be in thought. What’s on your mind?

**Setsuki Yori: ** Huh? Well… I was wondering about Reiko’s wounds.

< _ Debate Starts _ >

**Setsuki Yori Cont’d: ** How did Reiko get the bloody wounds on her head and hands?

**Reiko Ono: ** I fuckin’ SAID how it happened! Do you got shit in your ears!?

**Reiko Ono Cont’d:** The bat was strung up to the spinning fan, I got cut a couple of times while trying to get it down!

**Setsuki Yori:** Oh… right… sorry, I spaced out for a bit...

**Hana Okamoto: ** That’s a bunch of nonsense! You got hit fighting Bam! He wouldn’t just lay there and be killed!

**Hana Okamoto:** It would explain why the room was so damaged, and the bookshelf was knocked over! Bam fought back, and you finished him off.  
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** **A lie like that deserves to be cut to pieces.****  
**

_ <Debate Stops> _

**   
** **Shiro Kiruma Cont’d:** I’ve inspected Bam Takahashi's body, and he had a pair of handcuffs wrapped behind his back. While there are small bruises on his wrists from attempting to escape, he has no other wounds on his body besides the fatal one. He was killed instantly by the nail bat.    
  
**Hana Okamoto: ** The one Reiko has!   
**   
** **Miho Ishii:** We keep going back to that well. Reiko’s bat is the murder weapon. Why else would she have it?    
  
**Akira Kazue:** That isn’t the question I have. The real question is… why was Bam even in the prop room?   
  
**Miho Ishii: ** I don’t get it.   
  
**Akira Kazue:** If he was willingly going to the theater… he would be with us, right?    
**   
** **Miho Ishii:** Yeah… or he would have sit out.    
  
**Akira Kazue: ** But he didn’t. If Reiko murdered him, it would have been in the prop room. Why was he there?   
  
**Hana Okamoto:** We explained that already, ya idiot. He went because of the note!   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** Because of the note? That was 6:30 AM. I’m talking about just before the murder. Why was he in the prop room? We need to figure this out if we want a real culprit.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Kurotsuki, you’ve been oddly silent this whole trial. As much as I have enjoyed the quiet, perhaps you have something to say on the subject.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah! Yes, let me see, let me think… < _ twirls a strand of white hair around her finger _ > The note simply said for Ono and the fallen Takahashi to meet at the theater. It is possible that Ono forced him into the prop room.   
  
**Reiko Ono:** And how the fuck do you do that without a struggle!?   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** ...Airi. Can you tell everyone the chemical in your lab that had its safety seal broken?    
  
**Airi Kudo:** Trichloromethane, or Chloroform.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** How curious… Chloroform in your lab? What would the Ultimate Lucky Student need with that?

**Setsuki Yori:** Yeah, and what’s chloroform?

**Airi Kudo:** It was used by surgeons as an anesthetic, inhaling it dulls your nervous system and causes you to pass out. It’s potent enough that in larger doses, it could shut down your kidneys.    
  
**Airi Kudo Cont’d:** The seal to the chloroform was punctured, despite the fact I haven’t ever even considered using any of the chemicals in my lab.

**Shiro Kiruma:** -Any- of the chemicals?

**Airi Kudo:** …

**Miho Ishii: ** Why does the Ultimate Lucky Student have a date rape drug?

**Airi Kudo:** ..Is that really how you want to describe it?

**Shiro Kiruma:** Answer the question, Kudo. Why is there Chloroform in your lab?

**Airi Kudo:** …   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** It’s because she’s the Ultimate Spy.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Is this true, Taisei?

**Kenji Taisei: ** Yeah, it was the first act we saw from the Monokuma Theater, they were in alphabetical order, so Airi Kudo was first.

**Reiko Ono:** I fucking told you all she was a spy! She probably set up the whole murder so she could split with a hostage.   
**   
** **Airi Kudo:** The problem is… I don’t remember who I work for. I forgot some things when I came to this school, I remembered I was a spy but… I forgot my goal, I forgot my employers… I don’t remember what I was trying to accomplish.    
  
**Airi Kudo Cont;d: ** I know my principals… and that I wouldn’t just kill someone selfishly, but… I don’t remember anything else, thinking about it just gives me a migraine.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** So, we now know that the culprit had access to Chloroform and a pair of handcuffs. They drugged Takahashi, cuffed him and dragged him to the prop room.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** And it would mean that he was dragged to the prop room before any else of us arrived, that was why we didn’t see him.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** He had duct tape placed over his mouth to keep us from hearing the screams. It helped that the trap set up in the prop room helped cover the sound of the murder, by the fan tugging the door over and over to make a rattling noise and cover the fighting.   
  
**Akira Kazue: ** Duct tape from… Where, exactly?    
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** From the prop room, of course.

**Yukiji Chimon:** But… I don’t remember any tape being in there.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Because I investigated that room, not you.   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** No… I slept in the prop room the night before. There wasn’t any duct tape.

**Miho Ishii: ** You… slept in the prop room?

**Yukiji Chimon:** It was comfy… and I was hiding from Dahlia.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah! Yukiji, I’m hurt! Why would you hide from me like that? I would never harm a hair on your head!

**Kenji Taisei:** You were molesting him in the theater! I’d say he has good reason to hide from you!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** How about you shut your rotten fucking mouth, Kenji!?

**Kenji Taisei:** …

**Akira Kazue: ** …

**Yukata Watanabe:** What just happened?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah… ehehehehe… my apologies, the tension in this room is getting to me… please, carry on.

**Akira Kazue:** Right… when we get out of here, you’re going in my cell.    
  
**Haru Yamada: ** There will be no diddlin’ of others while Officer Kazue’s in the house! Absolutely zero diddling!

**Akira Kazue: ** That’s Akira Kazue Regulation #4! No sexual harrasment! Going either way!

**Setsuki Yori:** ...Why is he calling it ‘Diddling?’    
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** ...Getting back on point. If there was no duct tape in the prop room, then where was it?

**Akira Kazue:** If I remember correctly, when Kenji, Yukata and I were looking over the prompter booth, checking for traps. That’s where I last saw it on the table.

**Miho Ishii:** So, they took the duct tape from the prompter booth to the prop room?

**Yukata Watanabe:** While dragging Bam’s body? Wouldn’t Akami see that?

**Miho Ishii: ** Hm… maybe they dumped Bam in the prop room, went to the prompter room and got the duct tape.   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** No, there’s something in the prompter room that wouldn’t make that possible. The doorknob was broken off inside the room.   
  
**Kenji Taisei Cont’d: ** I couldn’t even get it open when I tried, if they broke the doorknob, they wouldn’t be able to head back to the prop room unless they went back through the theater lobby.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Taisei, we’re getting farther and farther away from the site of the murder.

**Kenji Taisei:** But that’s just the thing. Are we sure that the prop room was where the murder happened? There was a carpet on the floor, flipped upside down in the prompter room. When I flipped it over, it had a bloodstain on it as well.    
  
**Setsuki Yori: ** Both rooms had bloodstains on the carpet? Did he get murdered in a wormhole or something!?   
  
**Airi Kudo:** No, he was definitely killed in one of the rooms.

**Reiko Ono:** The blood in the prop room had to be mine from when I got fucked up by the bat.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** But we can’t confirm or deny that was your blood.

**Reiko Ono:** What, do you wanna see it now? Give me a knife, I’ll bleed all over your pasty ass!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** Please don’t.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** I agree with Watanabe, that would prove nothing without proper forensics.

**Yukiji Chimon: ** Kenji? I have a question for you.   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** Yeah? What’s up Yukiji?   
**   
** **Yukiji Chimon: ** I know I haven’t been following the narrative super well, but there’s something bothering me. Why did that fire happen?    
**   
** **Kenji Taisei:** Well, the fire happened because of a lighter we found.    
  
**Yukiji Chimon: ** No I mean like… -Why- did the fire happen? Why did someone start a fire? Did they want to burn down the theater with us in it…?   
  
< _ Kenji is taken aback, taking a step from the podium as his eyes began to widen somewhat. _ >   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** < _ To himself _ > They wanted us to see the body, and reveal it at a very specific time… When Reiko was in the prop room.    
  
**Miho Ishii: ** What’s that Mr. Farmer? Ya gotta project your voice so we can hear it!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** I think the fire might have happened, in an attempt to frame Reiko.

**Hana Okamoto:** Frame Reiko? But she did it!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** No, think about it. There’s more to it than just that, they set the fire, knowing that it wouldn’t be noticed right away. It would give them time to frame Reiko. The body was revealed when the sprinklers went off… And when the culprit had enough time to escape.   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Sorry, Kenji… I don’t follow this line of logic you’re following. This is a stretch.

**Akami Sakiko:** How so? Reiko would’ve been out of the stage room at the time of the fire.

**Miho Ishii:** Yeah, but that also means she could’ve snuck backstage to set the curtains on fire. You didn’t have her in your sight the whole time, Akami.

**Haru Yamada: ** Reiko would have had to walk back and forth several times if she wanted to get duct tape, THEN break the doorknob, THEN hide the body, THEN lock herself in the prop room!    
  


**Yukata Watanabe:** She had the murder weapon, regardless of how improbable it is, that’s the only conclusion I can come to.

**Shiro Kiruma:** And breaking the dooknob would be no issue if she were already armed.   
  
**Monokuma:** Do I hear infighting? I’m sure I hear infighting! Looks like it’s finally time for a Full Scale Debate!

**Reiko Ono:** The fuck is a Full Scale Debate?!?

**Airi Kudo: ** I assume this is some new element of the trials Monokuma wanted us to discover.

**Monokuma:** Yup! Usually trials tend to have one outlier who causes a debate and everyone just goes along with the train of thought, they only need to convince a few people. But when it’s split almost down the middle… We have to go all out, and fight to change the whole direction of a trial! That’s a Full Scale Debate!

**Monokuma Cont’d:** So, we’re gonna see the split of #ReikoFramed vs. #ReikoGuilty! You guys will vote for your team on your podiums and then we’ll go right at it with the debate! Choose your side!

**Setsuki Yori:** What’s with the hashtags?

**Monokuma:** I’m trying to keep up with the kids! Keeping this Killing Game hip! Let’s get #ReikoFramed or #ReikoGuilty trending worldwide!

**Miho Ishii:** I thought I was done with hashtags after my tour in the States...

< _ The podiums blinked to life with two buttons, marked #ReikoFramed and #ReikoGuilty. Kenji pressed #ReikoFramed, his panel lighting up with a blue color. Other podiums lit up either blue or red before suddenly moving, throwing everyone off balance briefly as students with match colors were put on the same side. Reiko’s podium, left colorless, was set in the center. Kenji looked and saw he, Airi, Akami, Haru and Yukiji were on the same side. On the opposite end was the red team, #ReikoGuilty. Shiro, Akira, Miho, Hana, Setsuki, Yukata and Dahlia. _ >

**Yukata Watanabe:** So, does joining #ReikoGuilty mean we voted her as the Blackened?

**Monokuma:** Well, you gotta prove she’s guilty of murder first, so maybe… anyway! We’ve got five for #ReikoFramed and seven for #ReikoGuilty! Let’s get this Full Scale Debate rolling!

< _ Full Scale Debate Start _ >

**Akira Kazue:** I don’t get it Kenji, why do you think Reiko was  **framed ** by someone?   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** Reiko was  **framed ** because the body reveal was specifically timed to make her look guilty.    
  
**Hana Okamoto: ** Reiko had the murder  **weapon** , that means she must have commited the murder!   
  
**Akami Sakiko:** We don’t actually know if it was the murder  **weapon** or not, we’re just assuming it is because Reiko’s always had her bat.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Kenji’s claims are irrelevant, it doesn’t matter if the  **prompter room** is tampered with, if we know where and when the murder happened!   
  
**Haru Yamada:** Kenji’s claims have a point! We can’t just pretend the  **prompter room ** is intact!   
  


**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** The  **body reveal** being delayed doesn’t mean she was framed, it means she was trying to complicate things!   
  
**Airi Kudo:** The fire was because they wanted to delay the  **body reveal** , and appear with the rest of the students to appear innocent.   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** What else could he have been killed with!? There’s nothing else in the  **theater** !

**Yukiji Chimon:** Maybe the weapon wasn’t in the **theater**… they could have set the trap beforehand.  
  
**Setsuki Yori:** The weapon was moved out of the theater? Why did **no one** else see it?  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** **No one** else could have left the theater except for the culprit, or else the Monopads would have exploded!  
**  
****Miho Ishii**: Then who hid the murder weapon, if it wasn’t **Reiko**!?  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** It would need to be someone who left the theater at some point, **Reiko **never left the building.  
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** How could the **culprit** get the weapon if Reiko was holding the only one in the building?

**#ReikoFramed: This is our answer!**

< _ Full-Scale Debate Stops _ >

< _ The podium lights shut off and the podiums were reshuffled into position. _ >   
**   
** **Kenji Taisei: The culprit hid the murder weapon until the murder, then removed it before we could find it**

**   
** **Dahlia Kurotsuki:** That’s a bold claim, Taisei… What basis do you have to make that sort of claim?   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** When Shiro and I checked the stage, I went into the trap room and found a nail under there. The nail was old and had a patina on it. It didn’t look like it was the same nails as the ones holding up the stage.

**Reiko Ono: ** Now that I think about it, the nails on the bat I was holding were silver. My nail bat is something I’ve had a couple of years.    
  
**Akira Kazue: ** Would someone go out of their way to put new nails in your bat? Why were the nails newer on the prop room bat?   
  
**Setsuki Yori:** Oh man, this is a real puzzler! Looks like it’s thinkin’ time!

< _ Setsuki put her arms into a snowboard pose, making “pshhhwww” sounds once again. _ >

**Shiro Kiruma:** Are we seriously going to wait for her to get done with this?   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** I don’t know, man… she’s 1 for 1 on this so far. 

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** So are we just going to imagine our way to the solution? That seems a bit convoluted don’t you think?    
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** I think Setsuki’s doing her best.   
  
**Airi Kudo:** Well, we’re going to have to find out whether or not th-   
  
**Setsuki Yori: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IGOTIT!** **   
**   
**Shiro Kiruma: ** Volume! Please!   
**   
** **Setsuki Yori:** Someone made a replica nail bat! It was the one hung up in the prop room! The real one was the murder weapon, and they took it! Reiko got left with the fake one!   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** ...Actually that makes a lot of sense. The nail stuck in Bam’s eye was headfirst in his eye, the actual point of the nail was sticking out, that’s backwards from the bat Reiko found.    
  
**Yukata Watanabe** : It even has that patina on it that made the nail a different color…   
  
**Reiko Ono:** I fuckin’ knew something was weird with that bat! I’ve grabbed it from the nail end before, but it didn’t cut the shit outta me! That was the wrong bat!   
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** So now we have a murder weapon we can’t find, and no suspect. Where do we go from here?   
  
**Akira Kazue:** Well… We have one suspect, that I was considering. Do you think you know who that is, Kenji?   
  
**Setsuki Yori: ** Oooh, is it Kenji?   
**   
** **Kenji Taisei:** It would have to be someone who would benefit from the murder discovery being delayed… Someone who could use it as their alibi.

**Shiro Kiuma:** Given the time of the fire, that means it would have to be someone whose Theater would be toward the end, as it would mean the fire was timed to prevent it from being seen. Which puts Ono back into the suspect list along with Ishii, Watanabe and Chimon.

**Reiko Ono: ** Goddamnit! Why am I a suspect again?!?

**Miho Ishii:** Wait a minute! By your own logic, you’re a suspect too!

**Shiro Kiruma: ** You really think I would be so careless as to commit a murder?

**Miho Ishii: ** Maybe not, but you’d be more than happy to have someone else do it for you!

< _ Debate Start _ >

**Shiro Kiruma:** The body discovery happened in the final half of the theater.   
  
**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d: ** Monokuma listed the Theaters in alphabetical order. Barring the possibility of an accomplice acting on their behalf, that leaves us with four suspects.

**Shiro Kiruma Cont’d: ** Miho Ishii, Reiko Ono, Yukata Watanabe and Yukiji Chimon.

**Akira Kazue:** But you can’t perfectly time a fire, maybe it was set to go off earlier.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** The smoke began during my theater meaning that the next theater would be Watanabe’s or Chimon’s.

**Airi Kudo: I can see through that!**

_ <Debate Stop> _

**Airi Kudo: ** Shiro, you’re running on an assumption of the actual playbill. While you’re right about the alphabetical order, there’s some differences you didn’t account for.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Differences?

**Airi Kudo: ** Tell me, what do you think the order of the first half of the Theater was?

**Shiro Kiruma: ** You, Kazue, Takahashi, Kurotsuki and Okamoto.

**Airi Kudo:** While the first two are correct, Hana was third, followed by Miho and, most distressingly, Bam’s.

**Yukata Watanabe: ** Bam?

**Miho Ishii:** Really? That lil pervert went after me?

**Airi Kudo:** Yes. His real first name is actually Morida, thus meaning his theater was later.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** I see, but Ishii’s should’ve been in the bottom half even with the adjustment, not fourth.

**Airi Kudo:** I was hoping you’d bring that up, there is one other person whose true name is not what they claim.

**Setsuki Yori:** Whoa, no way. Who is it?

**Airi Kudo: ** Kenji, you happened to catch their real name. And we’ve already named all of the first half. So, who is it?

**Kenji Taisei :** < _ The person who wasn’t named before… the one whose real name I heard. _ >  **That’s gotta be it!**

**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** Is it… Dahlia?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** Hm? What is this little lie you two are spinning about me?

**Airi Kudo: ** It’s not a lie. If you really were Dahlia Kurotsuki, you would’ve been third.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Then the ursine fool made a mistake. He is not an infallible deity. He is as capable of folly as the rest of you mortal beings of flesh and-

**Airi Kudo:** Wakako, this is getting tiring.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ahahahaha… < _ She flipped her hair back dramatically, then held a hand to her chin _ > AHHH~ AHAHAHAHAH!!   
**   
** **Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d:** Excuse me~?

**Airi Kudo: ** Struck a nerve, didn’t I? How long has it been since you heard someone call you by your real name?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** Your mind games mean nothing, Kudo. That name you said, Wakako Nagase, is as meaningless and fleeting to me as yours, Ono’s, Taisei’s or Sakiko’s.

**Kenji Taisei:** Wait, Dahlia… what did you say?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** Fuhuhuhuhu~ Come now, Taisei. Has listening to Ono’s braying rendered you deaf? Kudo is probably pulling a name from one of her past jobs to try and throw off the case.

**Airi Kudo: ** Fine then. Since you’re retreating into your delusions, we’ll need to defer to the judge. Well, Monokuma, what was Act 8 of Monokuma Theater?

**Monokuma:** < _ putting a paw to his chin _ > Hm… Act 8… Act 8…. Ah! Yes! Wakago Nagase!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Gh! Y-you two have been spun in his web of lies! The bear speaks in riddles and deception! There is no Wakako Nagase! There-

**Shiro Kiruma: ** That is enough, Kurotsuki. You are wasting our time with these diversions. Continue, Monokuma.

**Monokuma:** It might not have as much effect without my delicately placed props, but here goes! A low budget version of Wakako Nagase’s Monokuma Theater!  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** _<Under his breath>_ An even lower budget one…  
  
**Monokuma:** Wakako Nagase is a boring girl who was homeschooled after being bullied! She was raised by a single mother with a drinking problem, who hated her for being born after birthing her gave her a disability.   
  
**Monokuma Cont’d:** One day, her mom broke a bottle on her face while she was drunk, and she ran away crying, her mom called her a walking abortion, too! All she had to comfort her were her vampire books, she read them over and over to escape the thoughts of suicide in her head!

**Monokuma Cont’d: ** Wakako went back to school after being missing for years on government pay, making absolutely zero money and living off of cup soup, and begging on the street for dough.    
  
**Monokuma Cont’d:** After almost getting raped in an alleyway by a drug addict, Wakako fought him off, and ran out of town to forge a new identity for herself. Dahlia Kurotsuki, The Ultimate Vampiress! To cover up the fact that when she isn’t being the Ultimate Vampiress, she’s completely worthless~   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Holy shit…

**Akira Kazue:** That’s just… oh God…

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Well, that certainly explains a lot about you, Nagase.

**Yukiji Chimon: ** I… don’t know what to say...   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** < _ Her refined, English accent begins to falter _ > Yukiji… dearest Yukiji, my moonlit prince… just tell me why. Why won’t you run away with me already? < _ Accent fully drops _ > Why do you keep acting like you’re so fucking stupid? You’re the Ultimate Chessmaster. Why the shit do you need to be around these LOSERS!?

**Yukiji Chimon: ** W-Wakako?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!   
  


< _ Yukiji nervously flinches from the shouting _ >   
**   
** **Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** Don’t fucking call me that… Wakako was worthless. This is the only time I’ve fucking mattered, and then you immediately want to take that away from me, Kenji? Airi? Shiro? Why? Why do you hate me!?

**Miho Ishii: ** N-no! We don’t hate you, Wakako! We didn’t know-

**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : < _ eyes red with tears _ > DON’T YOU FUCKING PITY ME! AND STOP CALLING ME THAT! < _ voice straining _ > WAKAKO NAGASE IS DEAD! MY NAME IS DAHLIA KUROTSUKI, THE ULTIMATE VAMPIRESS!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d:** I… I…  _ <tries to force the accent> _ I apologize for such an unbecoming outburst. This trial has gone long and has begun to wear on my nerves. Shall we continue?

**Airi Kudo: ** Wakako, you’re not fooling anyone here. You don’t have to-

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** SHUT THE FUCK UP, AIRI!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d:** Now, if you dipshits wanna get back to the case, Yukata’s Theater was playing when the fire came up!

**Yukata Watanabe:** But I wasn’t in Theater when the fire went up!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah, but did you and Taisei not come to me in order to investigate the theater? Why, if I recall, the first thing you had asked of me was concerning the fire curtain! You and Taisei must have shared secrets and wanted to escape!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe** : I.. don’t want to remember my secret. I didn’t even tell Kenji about it.   
  
**Monokuma:** Yukata’s sister died in a car accident, and he lost a card game tournament that would have raised enough money to save her life! Everybody’s secret is comin’ out!   
  
**Yukata Watanabe:** You… didn't have to tell everyone that…

**Kenji Taisei:** Whoa… Yukata?

**Yukata Watanabe:** Yeah… I fucked up. I… thought trusting in my deck would help save Shizuka’s life. But.. I lost. My pride blinded me, and my sister died because of it.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** And because you didn’t want anyone knowing your secret, you killed Bam, wrapped his body in the fire curtain and set the fire! And you had Kenji help you put it all together!

**Yukiji Chimon: ** Dahlia… Stop hurting people.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Ah, why Yukiji. I am doing nothing more than speaking the truth. You cannot possibly believe these foul, tainted killers!

**Yukiji Chimon:** No, Kenji and Yukata didn’t do it, I was with Kenji the whole time. Of all the people who left the theater… you did.   
  
**Yukiji Chimon Cont’d** : You left… that was to hide the weapon… wasn’t it? 

< _ Debate Start _ >   
  
**Yukiji Chimon Cont’d: ** When you took my shirt, you didn’t go to the dressing room because you wanted to get out of the theater.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Yukiji, darling… I left to find a clean shirt for you after I spilled punch on you.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d:** I felt terrible about the accident and the dressing has nothing that would fit you.

**Yukiji Chimon:** That wasn’t an accident. You spilled that punch on purpose.

**Kenji Taisei: I agree with Yukiji!**

< _ Debate Stop _ >

**Kenji Taisei:** Yukiji’s right. Dahlia spilled the punch when her act came up. She made the biggest distraction possible, so no one would hear her secret.   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** It was probably because the fire didn’t start yet…

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** Come now, you believe I would prepare a simple mistake? It was a slip of the hand.

**Airi Kudo:** Really now? I don’t buy that.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Oh? Then tell me, Kudo. Why do you not believe what is so plainly obvious.

**Airi Kudo: ** Because part of your Ultimate Vampiress act is having perfect balance and control. Wouldn’t admitting that you made a mistake be an admittance that you’re human?

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** I… b-but! Fuck you!

**Airi Kudo: ** So, it would have to be a calculated action, designed to create a diversion and to give you something else you needed for your plan.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Hm? Something else?

**Airi Kudo:** Kenji, you already know what that is, correct?

**Kenji Taisei:** You mean Yukiji’s shirt, right? She took it so she could hide the weapon.

**Yukiji Chimon: ** Uh-huh. I wear big shirts because they’re comfy, so it’d be big enough to wrap around Reiko’s bat.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** O~hohohohoho! Don’t be silly, Yukiji! I took your shirt so I could bring it to the laundry room! After I did that, I went to get your shirt from your dorm room.   
  


**Miho Ishii:** No you didn’t.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki** : Huh?

**Miho Ishii:** I saw you in the halls, walking by with some weird thing stained with red. I thought it was some Gangrel cosplay, but it was really the shirt, wasn’t it? You took it straight up to the second floor.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** You’re a liar! Nothing you said can even be confirmed. Perhaps you’re the accomplice, and you’re trying to cover someone’s lie… or maybe you’re just covering for your own lies…

**Monokuma:** Oh, you mean how STARSTRUCK is funded by the Kuzuryu clan that wiped out Reiko’s gang?

**Reiko Ono: ** The fuck?!? You’re all buddy-buddy with those bastards?!?

**Miho Ishii: ** Wh-what? Reiko… I can explain!   
  
**Reiko Ono:** You better explain you no-necked bitch!

**Miho Ishii:** Who are you callin’ no-necked, you dog-faced gremlin?

**Akira Kazue: ** This isn’t the time for this! Dahlia’s just trying to distract us! Calm down, please!   
  
**Reiko Ono: ** Fuck you!   
  
**Miho Ishii:** No, fuck you!   
**   
** **Shiro Kiruma: Enough!** **   
  
**

< _ A silence falls in the room _ >

**Shiro Kiruma:** < _ Adjusts his glasses _ > Kazue’s right, we are here to investigate Takahashi’s murder, not kill each other our secrets. We are reaching the endgame and Nagase is trying to send us off-course.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** I’ll cut your fucking tongue off if you call me that again, Shiro!

**Shiro Kiruma:** You will do no such thing, noted and ignored. Now then, Nagase hid the bat in the trap room and when she commited the murder, she hid it until she could take it to the exit and hide it in the school.

**Kenji Taisei:** She probably hid it in the janitor’s closet. That’s where we found the bloodstain.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Yes, but the nails would’ve loosened if she had used it to break the prompter booth door. There were no nails in the prompter room or closet.   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** She probably used that broken microphone. Then barred the door with a broom from the janitor’s closet because she couldn’t lock it while exiting the room into the lobby.

**Shiro Kiruma:** Yes… it’s all coming together… and yet, something is frustrating me.

**Yukiji Chimon: ** What is it?

**Shiro Kiruma:** The nail bat… the handcuffs… the Chloroform. How did Nagase get these items?

  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki: O~hohohohoho!**   
  


**Dahlia Kurotsuki Cont’d: ** Your web of lies is fading! You fucking idiots! Begone from my sight! Shit for brains! I will not fall for human tricks! It’s over!

**Kenji Taisei: We’re not giving up!**

**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** You got the Chloroform from Airi’s lab! The handcuffs from Akira’s lab! You made the nailbat in Emi’s lab! There was a hammer and nails on a workbench! You stole the keycards, and had ample time to set up the murder!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** You act like I set up the murder beforehand!? How do you think I could have committed such a grand scheme at once!?   
  
**Kenji Taisei: ** The theater was a second home for you, remember!? You were walking the catwalks when we first saw you there, and you were there for hours!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** And how could I steal the keycards? They cannot leave the lab building and Kudo and Kazue were always using them!

**Kenji Taisei: ** You sleep in your coffin in your lab! You’d have plenty of time to raid their labs at night! That’s how you found Emi’s keycard in Akira’s lab!   
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** And how did I activate the trap in the prop room, if I never went inside it during the Monokuma theater!?   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** There was a circuit breaker underneath the trap stage, close to where I found the nail bat! You could have turned it on manually when you had the chance.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** O~hohohohoho! This castle of falsehoods falls apart! There is no proof I ever entered Nakayama’s lab! You fucking lose, Kenji!

** _<Missing Picture of Yukiji_ ** _ > _

**Kenji Taisei: I’ve got one shot!**

**Kenji Taisei Cont’d:** There -is- proof that you entered that lab, Dahlia. The lab had pictures of us. Pictures from the missing year of our lives.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Wh-what?!?

**Reiko Ono: ** You’re fucking with us!

**Akira Kazue:** No, they’re real. I’ve seen them too, back when Monokuma opened up the labs. There were plenty of them scattered around Emi’s lab. I put them all in a small drawer so no one could use them as a motive.

**Kenji Taisei: ** But when Emi’s keycard went missing, we looked in her lab and found the drawer had been opened. Two photos weren’t there. One of Yukiji and Dahlia playing chess in his lab.

**Yukiji Chimon: ** Huh?

**Kenji Taisei: ** And the other… was..

**Akira Kazue: ** The class photo! The one with all of us in it!

**Dahlia Kurotsuki: ** What is this bullshit?!? There’s no photos! You’re just making shit up because you want me to be guilty! Lies, fucking lies!

**Akira Kazue: ** We’re not lying!

**Kenji Taisei:** Well, no. We did. There’s really three photos out of the drawer…

< _ Kenji reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded photograph. He unfolded it, holding back tears. _ >

**Kenji Taisei:** This… This was me and Emi. Together. Akira said I could keep it if I didn’t go back to her lab.

**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** Kh-!

**Shiro Kiruma:** Th-then… if these photos are real…

**Akira Kazue: **Then Dahlia found the ones with her and Yukiji and kept them so she could prove they were ‘meant to be’ as it were.  
  
**Dahlia Kurotsuki:** I-I… I…  
  
**Kenji Taisei:** **We’re putting an end to this! Here’s the truth. **

The murder began several days before, when the culprit realized that Monokuma knew her secret. Not wanting to lose her image, she set up a plan, to get them, and their supposed beloved Yukiji out of the academy by framing someone else for murder. They gathered Chloroform from Airi’s lab, handcuffs from Akira’s lab, and stole the nail bat from Reiko’s lab. They forged a new bat in Emi’s lab by using it as a reference, and hid the original bat in the trap floor of the stage in the theater, this was the first part of her plan.

The next part was getting her victim. The morning of the murder, the culprit forged a note pretending to be Reiko for Bam, asking him to show up early in the morning near the theater to come meet her, and he complied. That was when they ambushed him. They used a rag soaked in chloroform to knock him out, and moved his body to the prompter booth.    
  
They tied his wrists together with handcuffs, covered his mouth in duct tape, and locked the doors to keep him locked inside. The culprit exited the prompter room, and set their trap in the prop room, to leave the replica bat with Reiko, the one she wanted to frame. They tied a rope to the ceiling fan, then tied it to the nail bat. Then, they tied the other end of the bat to the doorknob.    
  
The culprit could lock the door with the doorknob, but because the tension of the bat was pulling on the doorknob, it wouldn’t actually lock until the tension on the lock was relieved. Happy with their plan, they went under the stage, turning off the circuit breaker, but turning the fan speed all the way up to cause a distraction in the movie theater. This was to minimize the time they would be out of the sight of the rest of the students.    
  
We arrived at the theater, and since Bam’s Monopad was with him, it stated that he was in the theater as well, despite him being tied up and struggling in the prompter booth. The show started, and we all began to watch as Monokuma listed off secrets. The culprit, using the darkness of the room sneaked into the trap stage by climbing through the orchestra pit and turning on the circuit breaker, to activate the trap in the room..   
  
The culprit quietly snuck up on me, informing me that there was a distracting noise, getting Reiko to investigate it. The culprit then grabbed the bat from underneath the stage, and went back to the prompter room. They quickly smashed the bat into Bam’s head, killing him instantly. 

Not wanting to leave a blood stain on their clothes, I suspect they dragged the body using the carpet in the prompter room onto the catwalk, that would also reduce the noise of something being dragged along the grates.    
  
The culprit wrapped Bam up in the fire curtain, to try and time the body reveal to the exact moment their name came up during the Monokuma theater, the flammable curtain was set alight by carelessly dropping a lighter near the curtain, and letting the fire spreading do most of the work. They left the weapon in the janitor’s closet, to dispose of it later, they also made sure to break the doorknob of the prompters room, catwalk entrance, flip the carpets, and bar the door in hopes of hiding the fact that was where the true murder took place.   
  
By the time the culprit’s true name was spoken, the fire wasn’t noticeably large yet. Needing a distraction, they intentionally spilled their punch onto Yukiji to grab people’s attention, while providing the bonus of signaling everyone in the room that the culprit wasn’t going to be in the building, in an attempt to give themselves an alibi.    
  


They took Yukiji’s shirt, carried it to the janitor’s closet, and wrapped the murder weapon into it, hiding it from view as they disposed the murder weapon. At the same time, Reiko activated their trap, causing Reiko to be the only one holding something that could be used as a murder weapon. By the time the culprit returned, the fire spread, and the body was revealed, hoping that it would take the heat off them by not being in the building!    
  
It was all because you had a dream to escape with Yukiji. Isn’t that right, Wakako Nagase, The Ultimate Vampiress!?

**Wakako Nagase: ** Noooo! Don’t say that name! I’m Dahlia Kurotsuki! I am the sire of the Dread Captain Blackmoon! I have feasted on the essence of mortals for centuries and will do so until the Earth rots away! Wakako Nagase is nothing! A worthless failure!  _ <voice cracking, on the verge of tears>  _ I-I’m not Wakako!   
  
**Kenji Taisei:** Monokuma… We’re ready to vote.   
  
**Wakako Nagase:** No! Wait! Yukiji! You can’t let me die like this, right!? Please…. Don’t let me die here.

  
**Yukiji Chimon: ** I… I don’t know how.   
  
**Wakako Nagase:** Please, Yukiji! I love you, does that not matter? Please… I beg of you… save me!   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** ...I can’t save you. You killed someone, you don’t even have a grasp of reality… How could I love someone who hurts the people I care about? How could I love someone who wants to leave the rest of us to die? I can’t save you, you can’t even save yourself…   
  
**Wakako Nagase** : B-but! < _ she scrambles through her dress, pulling out the photo of her and Yukiji. _ > Ah! Here’s the proof! Y-you did love me, Yukiji! You simply forgot!

  
**Yukiji Chimon:** Everything’s different now. I-I can’t forgive you… I’m sorry.

**Wakako Nagase:** < _ Freezes in place, then begins to quietly sob, nearly collapsing against her podium. _ > I just… wanted to feel like… I had something to live for Yukiji… I’m sorry I made this about you...

  
**Monokuma: ** Did I hear someone say voting time!? I deeeefinitely heard someone say voting time!   
  
**Monokuma:** Will you correctly identify the blackened? Or will you choose the dreadfully wrong one? Iiiiiiit’s VOTING TIME!   
  
< _ The list Kenji saw before when he voted last time appeared again on his podium, though with Emi and Bam now crossed out and unselectable. Kenji quietly scrolled, pressing Wakako’s face, and hitting the vote button, after a minute, Monokuma spoke again. _ >    
  
**Monokuma** : Let’s see the results before we find out who the blackened is, shall we?   
  
_ Dahlia Kurotsuki: 12 Votes _ _   
_ _ No other students received a single vote. _

< _ Monocoins poured out from the slot machine, marked with three Dahlia faces, giving all but Dahlia a generous pile of coins. _ >

**Wakako Nagase: ** < _ Crying, red eye contacts falling onto the podium along with her fake fangs, revealing her blue eyes. _ > I-I just… I wish I knew what made you love me, Yukiji!

**Yukiji Chimon:** < _ Sniffles a bit, wiping his eyes on his sleeve _ > I… I think it was because I got to know the real you...

**Wakako Nagase: ** H-huh?

**Yukiji Chimon:** W-well… I was always afraid of you when you’d stalk me, harass me, get all touchy-feely with me. But… If you look at that photo.   
  
< _ Wakako inspects the photo _ .>   
**   
** **Yukiji Chimon: ** I-in the picture… You had blue eyes. You were… you. I think that was who I was in love with. < _ He said shakily, wiping his eyes on his sleeve again. _ > I didn’t love Dahlia Kurotsuki. But… but maybe I loved Wakako Nagase.

**Wakako Nagase:** I-I see… I’m sorry…

**Monokuma:** Anyone else feeling something in their heart? < _ Belches _ > Oh, nevermind! Just a bit of heartburn! Nothing a couple of antacids couldn’t solve.    
  
**Akira Kazue: ** I… I feel like I did something wrong by voting.

**Shiro Kiruma: ** Nagase committed the murder. The only correct answer was to vote against her.

**Kenji Taisei:** Shiro’s right… she… she shouldn’t have murdered Bam… being the blackened means we all die if we didn’t vote for Wakako.    
  
**Shiro Kiruma:** Seems Taisei’s making sense for once…   
  
**Yukiji Chimon:** I wish I was dreaming… I don’t know how many more of these I can do.

**Wakako Nagase: ** Monokuma… before you punish me.. < _ she grabbed another photo from her dress. The class photo. _ > I want to give these away… so we don’t lose them. < _ She turned to Hana. _ > Hana… I know you hate me for killing Bam. So… I want you to have this as an apology.

**Hana Okamoto: ** Huh? < _ she takes the photo. _ > Th-thanks…

**Wakako Nagase:** Yukiji… I think I’ll be happy… If you made it out of here okay. Please… promise me you’ll make it out of here. I’ll miss you.   
**   
** **Yukiji Chimon: ** ...Wakako…

< _ Wakako smiled, tears running down her cheeks as she handed the photo of them to Yukiji. _ >

**Wakako Nagase:** Smile for me, Yukiji… One last time.

< _ Yukiji wiped his eyes into his sleeve and smiled. _ >

**Monokuma:** Oh, this is un-bear-able! Are all these trials going to be tragic? If this keeps happening I’m gonna throw up! Now then, since you all built a perfect case against her… the blackened, Wakako Nagase, shall receive her punishment!

**Monokuma Cont’d:** Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Wakako Nagase, the Ultimate Vampiress! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! IT’S PUNISHMENT TIIIME!

_ A large red button appeared in front of Monokuma, who then struck it with a gavel. The screen changed to show a new message. _

**GAME OVER. Wakako has been found guilty. It’s time for the punishment!**


	21. Execution 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your Actions Have Consequences.

**Execution 2: The Final Death**   
  
Wakako’s podium clicked, then began to rise up to the ceiling, a door opening up that took her all the way to the surface of the campus, next to the fountain. The sunset hitting her eyes, so she just casually covered her eyes with her wrist since she was no longer in character. At the sunset stood a figure, wearing a wide brimmed hat, and a long trench coat. Monokuma Van Helsing rode in at dusk atop a fake pony.    
  
Wakako began to run, stumbling in her high heels, forced to kick them off her feet and run through the campus barefoot. Yukiji quietly watched the action on the monitor, with both hands in front of his mouth, clasped over his nose. He wanted to cheer her on to escape, but the look in his teary eyes knew exactly what was going to happen next. All he could do was watch as Wakako scrambled up the first floor stairs, looking for anything to throw onto the floor to slow Monokuma Van Helsing.    
  
Monokuma pulled a small crossbow from his belt, firing a pair of bolas, tying her ankles together, Wakako falling and landing facefirst onto the staircase. She grabbed onto the railing as she began to slide down the stairs, turning and seeing Monokuma waiting at the foot of the stairs. She turned around, her nose began to bleed from hitting her face on the stairs, and crawled from step to step, getting up higher as Monokuma Van Helsing seemed more intent on watching his prey.

Yukiji breathed a sigh of relief as Wakako got to the second floor, hopping away from the steps to give herself enough space to attempt to untie the bolas. However, it was then she noticed blood pouring from her ankles. The bolas had barbs on the cords, cutting into her. The pain of her smashed nose had made the stabbing barbs unnoticeable by comparison. Wakako grabbed onto the cords, barbs digging into her fingers.   
  
Monokuma Van Helsing approached her with a grin on his face, tossing her a ring of garlic at her, which just made her look confused as she held it on one hand, breaking the barbs off and finally standing up to face off against him, despite there being no escape, as shutters began closing off any of the hallways she thought about running down.    
  
Wiping the blood off her upper lip, she charged at Monokuma with all her might, reeling back a hand into a fist to try and punch him, but he just threw his crossbow, loaded with a 3 foot iron bar on it, firing it with a heavy _ KA-THUNK.  _   
  
She stopped her charge, looking down, to see she was impaled through the chest and stomach with the iron bar, blood spraying from the wound and coating her dress, as she slowly collapsed onto her knees in pain. Standing back up, slowly stammering a step at a time, throwing a punch at him, but falling down the entire staircase and ending up on the floor in a pool of her own blood.    
  
“W-Wakako…” Yukiji gently sputtered, before closing his eyes as hard as he could not to see anymore. Monokuma Van Helsing loomed over Wakako, who looked up at him with defiance in her eyes. She struggled to stand as she coughed an uncomfortably large amount of blood onto her chin and chest. She heard the cocking of the crossbow.  _ KA-THUNK! _ Another iron bar slammed down into her left shoulder. Then another into her right.  _ KA-THUNK! _

Wakako could only look at the ceiling as she heard another two bars fired.  _ KA-THUNK! KA-THUNK! _ She felt the bars pierce into her legs, pinning them to the floor _ . _ Monokuma Van Helsing walked up to her head, looking at Wakako as she gritted her bloodsoaked teeth, defiantly spitting some blood onto his face. He drew the crossbow once more, the iron bar loaded in and fired with a final  _ KA-THUNK _ as it drove right through Wakako’s head, stopping at the floor.

Yukiji had covered his ears, tear-soaked eyes shut tight. That hard slamming of the iron bar echoed through his head, his body shaking as he fell onto the bottom of his podium, shrinking into a ball as the other students stared in shock. Kenji’s heart dropped, but the anger he had when he watched Emi’s death was just replaced with a hole. A hole filled with an absolute void, like his heart couldn’t let him feel.    
  
“Wakako…” Yukiji muttered quietly as the other students slowly filed out of the room in complete silence, wanting to leave as fast as possible. Haru and Hana left, in hopes to forget, Yukata and Shiro left because they wanted to rest. Setsuki left, nearly having to drag herself from how hollow she felt. Kenji quietly tucked his hands in his pockets, and forced himself to the elevator at about the same time Airi got on. Akami and Miho stepped onto the elevator, looking at Yukiji with heavy hearts.   
  
Akira stayed, slowly walking over to Yukiji and gently sat on the floor behind him, crossing her legs over her thighs, waiting patiently for him to turn around after gently tapping his shoulder. Yukiji leaned back to look at her, a pained look on his face, and eyes red with his own tears, when Akira suddenly leaned over to hug him as hard as she could, as he gently began to sob on his shoulder. There were no word shared between them as the lights began to shut off in the courtroom, but there didn’t need to be. They hugged, they hugged for what nearly felt like an hour as Akira gently guided him back to the elevator so they can go up together, despite how soaked with Yukiji’s tears Akira’s police uniform was, she didn’t mind him reaching out to hold onto her hand.    
  
Dinner that night had begun in silence until Akira and Yukiji had arrived. Kenji was the first to get up, walking over to them. “Yukiji, I’m really sorry you had to see that. I know what you’re going through, so if you ever need someone to talk to…” he said, Yukiji simply nodding.    
  
“I think… you should just get some sleep, Yukiji.” Akira admitted, feeling Yukiji squeeze her hand before gently letting go of it. He walked off for the dorms. Akira sighed, shrugging off the weight of all that’s happened, and just tilting her head back as she stared at the ceiling.   
  


Akira felt ragged, like the after effects of a tidal wave hit and she’s just assessing the damage, knowing that there’s going to be a lot more work and stress ahead of her. It was over, for now… But there was going to be more murder, more shouting, more accusations… she was at a crossroads, and wasn’t sure what she could do to stop it.   
  
Resigning herself to this, Akira decided to just go to bed instead of talking to the others.

**CHAPTER 2 END** **   
**   
  


**STUDENTS REMAINING: 12**


End file.
